INNOVATIVE PROJECTS FUND GRANT FOR DIVISIONAL ENHANCEMENT SPONSORED BY THE COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON DIVISIONAL ACTIVITIES (DAC)
REPORT Divisions that are recipients of these funds are required to submit a short report on the use of the funds and the effectiveness of the project receiving funds. This is required 30 days at the end of the project’s completion, or the completion of part of the project for which these funds were used, whichever comes first. In any case, a status or final report on any previous year’s funding shall be submitted by July 1 before any new funding for a subsequent year can be considered. Please fill shaded areas to complete the form. Email, fax or mail the completed form to: American Chemical Society Member Communities, Volunteer Support O-1021 1155 Sixteenth St. NW Washington, DC 20036 Fax: (202) (202) 872-4353 Email:
[email protected] Date: 8/31/2013
Status
X Final
Division Name: AGFD Project Title: Communicating Cajun Cooking Chemistry (C4) Start Date: (DD/MM/YY) 9/13/2012 Completion Date: (DD/MM/YY) 04/09/2013 Division Chair: Lauren Jackson Division Project Contact: (Name, email) Gavin Sacks,
[email protected] Funding Received from DAC: $ 6000 Other Funding Received: $1500 from AGFD division for student registrations and lunch expenses, and in-kind support from Dickie Brennan’s Restaurant Company (New Orleans, LA) for providing the space for the event (estimated value $1000) Project Assessment: The project goal was to challenge students to communicate fundamental concepts of chemistry through the lens of Cajun cuisine. Students were instructed to form teams of up to 4 students, and to explain the chemistry behind a technique or dish important to regional Louisiana cooking. Initial applications were to be done in paper and video form, while the final competition will done live with appropriate demonstrations. The project has proceeded according to our initial proposal plan. We advertised the competition and posted rules and regulations through the following means: • An institutional webpage, which also served as the application submission portal http://www.hws.edu/news/cajuncooking.aspx, • Reactions – the ACS Undergraduate blog: http://acsundergrad.wordpress.com/author/acsundergrad/ • The AGFD divisional site: http://agfd.sites.acs.org/ • And through a Food Science chairs list-serve, to contact food science departments that might not have good contact with ACS
The application period finished on Feb 18, 2013. We received applications from 12 student teams, representing a broad geographical and institutional range (including San Joaquin Delta Community College, Tennessee State University, Rutgers University, University of CaliforniaDavis, and others). Of these, three finalist teams were selected for the finals competition • Fresno State University – “Gumbo and Roux” • College of the Ozarks – “Shrimp Etoufee” • Cornell University – “Pecan Pie” Fresno State’s video can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bnRplpVKnI
The DAC funding was used to provide $500 travel vouchers to each of the student members of the finalist teams (12 students, $6000 total). The competition finals were held at Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse in the French Quarter on April 9, 2013, during the 245th ACS Meeting. The executive chef (Darrin Nesbit) served as one of four celebrity judges. The other celebrity judges were three long-time ACS contributors: the popular food science writers Harold McGee and Shirley Corriher, and professor of Food Science at Cornell, Terry Acree. Approximately 100 people were present at the Final Competition, including 50 ticketed attendees, as well as members of ACS Communications, C&EN News, and faculty advisors for the student teams. The student teams each presented for 10 minutes on their topic, after which audience members and judges were invited to walk through the students interactive student presentations. Student teams provided samples of their cooking demonstrations to audience members during this time. A catered buffet-style lunch was also provided by the restaurant. After tallying the judges’ scores, the student teams ended up in a 3-way tie. Overall, the DAC support contributed to the successful execution of a new program idea. Potentially, these themed “Cooking Chemistry Competition” events will be continued at future conferences (e.g. Fall 2014 in San Francisco). Describe the impact of these funds on the Division (if applicable): As mentioned above, the DAC funds will be used to for travel vouchers for the student finalists. For all of the finalist teams, the support was helpful, and in some cases necessary, for the students attendance at the ACS conference. Additionally, the event brought in many ACS members (participants and attendees) who were not part of AGFD, nor regular attendees at AGFD events. The event also helped increase involvement of undergraduate students in AGFD. Since many colleges do not have active food chemistry programs, increasing undergraduate involvement is an ongoing goal.
