Presentations from 2016 "Whole Grains Away From Home" Conference

Whole grains have made large strides in lunchrooms, grocery stores, and homes, so restaurants and other foodservice establishments are well-positioned to be the next area of whole grain growth.

At the Oldways Whole Grains Council’s 2016 Conference (held at the Loew’s Chicago O’Hare, September 25-27), our speakers highlighted opportunities and creative solutions for serving and selling whole grains away from home. 

CPE Credit For Registered Dietitians

Up to 10 hours of CPE credit is available for watching these videos until September 25, 2017. Oldways is a CPE Accredited Provider with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR), provider number OL440. Email Kelly Toups at kelly@oldwayspt.org with the presentations that you watched and wish to receive credit for, in order to verify your participation and receive documentation of completion. This activity should be logged as a 175 activity (Recorded Pre-Approved CPE).

While we offer these presentations for their educational value, we remind you that these works are copyrighted by each speaker and may not be reproduced without the speaker’s written permission. Please note that these are unedited, “Fly on the Wall” videos, so you may need to forward briefly through some logistics, such as cooking demo setups.

Sunday September 25

Welcoming Remarks: Whole Grains Away From Home
Sara Baer Sinnott, President, Oldways — View Video (9:32)

Lessons from the Lunchroom
Chef Ann Cooper, America’s leading advocate for Real School Food, shares the latest on how whole grains are being welcomed in schools – and how this experience can be extended elsewhere in foodservice.
Ann Cooper, Founder, Chef Ann Foundation
— Download PDF (3.2 MB) View Video (31:01)

Whole Grains – It’s All About the Flavor
Top chefs are discovering that whole grains open up a new world of textures and flavors to be explored. Cookbook author Maria Speck, winner of the Julia Child Award, offers her sage advice on flavor pairings, and explains why whole grains offer a culinary advantage.
Maria Speck, Author of Simply Ancient Grains and Ancient Grains for Modern Meals
— View Video (27:46)

The Art of the Sell: Marketing Whole Grains
Learn the art of designing menu offerings that showcase whole grain options at their best – and get tips from two professional chefs on how to describe these low cost, grain-centric choices to help them fly off the menu. Our chefs will illustrate their talk with quick demos of Shaker Salads, Multi-Grain Yogurt Parfait, and Spicy Farro Bowls.
Michael Holleman, Director of Culinary Development, InHarvest
Coleen Donnelly, Corporate Chef K-12 Segment, InHarvest
— Download PDF (868 KB) View Video (39:27)

Monday September 26

Rediscovering the Real Taste of Local Wheat
For too long, we’ve bred wheat for yield rather than for taste and nutrition. Dr. Stephen Jones, pioneering head of The Bread Lab, explains how his work is bringing delicious flavor back to wheat.
Stephen Jones, PhD, Director of the Bread Lab, Washington State U
—- View Video (31:37)

Setting the Stage: Whole Grain Momentum across the Foodservice Industry
A quiet revolution is underway across the country, with whole grains at the center of new restaurant concepts and increasingly evident In mainstream chains, as detailed with real-life examples throughout the foodservice spectrum
Kelly Toups, MLA, RD, LDN, Director of Whole Grains Council, Oldways
Cynthia Harriman, Director of Food & Nutrition Strategies, Oldways
— Download PDF (5 MB) View Video (31:21)

Millions of Meals: Contract Foodservice Innovation
What do foodservice management companies need from manufacturers, to carry their products? Two of the world’s largest contract foodservice companies will explain how they implement innovative whole grain strategies.
Jennifer Roberts, MS, RD, Senior Director of Nutrition Communications, Compass Group
Lisa Feldman, Director of Culinary Services, Sodexo
— Download Ms. Roberts’ PDF (2.4 MB)
— Download Ms. Feldman’s PDF (7.8 MB)
— View Video of both speakers (37:33)

Whole Grain Trend Watch: Searching for the Next Quinoa
What’s happening on America’s menus? Datassential has analyzed a massive store of data to offer keen insights into current momentum – and future trends – for whole grains.
Mark DiDomenico, Director, Client Solutions, Datassential
— Download PDF (2.9 MB) View Video (36:41)

Chicago Chefs: on the Forefront of Whole Grain Innovation
Top Chicago chefs share how they are embracing whole grains on their menus in a variety of different markets
John Chiakulas, Corporate Executive Chef, Lettuce Entertain You
Greg Wade, Head Baker, Publican Quality Meats
Moderator: Alexei Rudolf, Principal, Foodservice Connections LLC
— View Video (45:21)

Whole Grains: Good for Health, Good for Profits
Some of the fastest growth in the restaurant sector comes from concepts that are emphasizing fresh, whole foods and clean labels. Anita Jones-Mueller will share insights on the momentum of foodservice toward whole grains.
Anita Jones-Mueller, MPH, Founder, HealthyDiningFinder.com
— Download PDF (21.7MB)  View Video (31:14)

DEMO: Baking Clean Label Whole Grain Breads, Rolls, & Pastries 
Chefs will demonstrate how to extract the greatest flavor from the grain and bake it into the bread, while sharing tips and tricks for elevating baked goods with whole grain flours & sprouted whole grain flours to a whole new level.
Daniel Marciani, Executive Development Chef, Ardent Mills
Ban Stewart, Executive Chef, Kowaliga Restaurant (for To Your Health Sprouted Flour) — View Video (23:56)

DEMO: Creative Applications for Ancient Grains
Millet and sorghum are two of up-and-coming contenders to succeed quinoa in popularity. Our chefs will talk about the best flavor pairings for these two gluten-free grains, and put together some delicious dishes.
Joel Schaefer, Author and Chef, Allergy Chefs Inc. (for Bob’s Red Mill)
Sharon Palmer, RD, (for United Sorghum Checkoff Program)
— Download PDF (9.5 MB) or View Video (37:09) of Chef Schaefer’s Demo
— View Video (18:50) of Sharon Palmer’s Demo

DEMO: Whole Grain Pasta Pairings
Many attempts to offer whole grains on menus fall flat for a simple reason — many operators don’t put flavor first, or assume that guests looking for healthier choices will compromise on taste. But the right combination of ingredients, techniques and flavors bring out the best in whole grains like pasta, and will have guests coming back for more. This session and cooking demonstration will show you what works, what doesn’t, how and why.
Lorenzo Boni, Executive Chef, Barilla North America
— Download PDF (6.9 MB) or View Video (33:36) of Chef Boni’s Presentation 

Tuesday September 27

Food with Roots: How Healthful Grains and Local Sourcing Can Fuel Fast Food Menus
Learn how the emphasis on quality is helping a fast casual burger and salad chain is successfully marketing whole grains to an audience that might otherwise be resistant to healthier options.
Tony Rosenfeld, Chef & co-founder, b.good
— Download PDF (4.4 MB) View Video (44:10)

How One Restaurant is Building a Whole Grain Community
Learn how a Midwestern sushi restaurant is using the National School Lunch Program as a jumping off point for building community, and introducing families to healthy ingredients, like whole grains.    
Teresa Perretta, Vice President, Fusian
— Download PDF (381 KB) View Video (26:21)

Whole Grain Trends on the Horizon 
A leading culinary trendologist draws on more than a decade of strategic food industry market analysis to look into her crystal ball and tell us where whole grains are headed in the short term and the long term.
Kara Nielsen, Trendologist, Trendologist K Consulting
— Download PDF (14.4 MB) View Video (38:24)

Grains, Grocerants, & Grandeur
In this session, learn about how “grocerants” (grocery store prepared food selections) are leading the way in grain innovation and recipe applications.
Steve Petusevsky, Founder, Steve Petusevsky Inc.
— Download PDF (7.2 MB) View Video (38:14)

Educating a New Generation of Whole Grain Chefs
Instructors at leading culinary schools share how they are getting the next generation of chefs equipped to cook with whole grains, and why whole grains are an integral part of the plate moving forward.
Chef William Lendway, MS, RD, Teaching Specialist, University of Minnesota 
Chef Brendan Walsh, Dean of Culinary Arts, Culinary Institute of America
Chef Todd Seyfarth, RD, Program Director/Culinary Nutrition, Johnson & Wales University
Moderator: Coleen Donnelly, Corporate Chef K-12 Segment, InHarvest
— Download PDF (3.3 MB) of Chef Lendway’s Presentation 
— Download PDF (4.8 MB) of Chef Walsh’s Presentation
— Download PDF (10.2 MB) of Chef Seyfarth’s Presentation 
— View Video of all speakers (1:05:48)