S A L A RY S U RV E Y p. 53

$5,000 MoreB O O K I N G S p. 71

Against CollegeE D U C O N P R E V I E W p. 75

Failing UpP

CM

AJu

ne

20

15T

he

Ma

gazi

ne

of

the

Pro

fess

ion

al C

on

ven

tio

n M

an

age

men

t A

sso

ciat

ion

Sleep DisorderCMP SERIES

You’re exhausting your attendees — and yourself — with overscheduled programs. Time to wake up. p. 42

c1-cover-p5d2.indd 1 5/18/15 1:07 PM

PCMA .ORG JUNE 2015 P C M A C O N V E N E 3 3

ILL

US

TR

AT

ION

BY

BE

CI

OR

PIN

/ T

HE

JA

CK

Y W

INT

ER

GR

OU

P

f&BJennifer N. Dienst

Stations high-lighted the talents

of local student culinarians.

B R E A KO U T

Chefs in the MakingWhen attendees walked up to the dessert table at ChefConnect: Indy’s welcome reception, they were greeted by a local culinary student instead of a hotel staff member. “It’s really important to involve students,” said ACF’s Sam Bhandarkar, who noted that education is a big part of ACF, which, in addition to having many student members, facilitates apprenticeship programs and accredits secondary and post-secondary programs. “We do that by incorporating action stations where they are preparing food on site,” Bhandarkar said, “and we have a significant number of students who volunteer and work as assistants to the presenters or the venue’s culinary staff.”

O N T H E W E B

Learn more about ACF’s ChefConnect: Indy conference at convn.org/acf-indy.

For Sam Bhandarkar, CMP, CASE, director of events for the American Culinary Federation

(ACF), food and beverage is always top of mind. Among his many duties, Bhandarkar plans five annual events for the organization’s more than 17,500 member chefs and culinarians — four-regional conferences and one National Convention & Show.

Hosted by Visit Indy, Convene dropped by ACF’s Central/Western Regional Conference, ChefConnect: Indy, held April 12–14 at the Indianapo-lis Marriott Downtown, to see how to satisfy such a discriminating collective palate. Here are three things we learned:

1 P I C K T H E P E R F E C T PA RT N E R

The first and most important step, Bhandarkar said, is site selection. Chef-Connect is three days of education and demonstration sessions, networking events, and, of course, plenty of oppor-tunities to eat, from an awards gala din-ner to numerous breaks and receptions.

“We’re not the kind of group to order off a standard catering menu,” Bhan-darkar said, meaning that it’s important to ensure “that the talent is there at the property, and then that they have the resources to deliver on the expectations of our member chefs.” Check and check: Indianapolis Marriott Downtown’s executive chef, Michael R. Vlasich, is an award-winning ACF member.

Second, and just as important, is coming up with menus that are both interesting and impeccable. Although ACF attendees are discerning, “it’s a fun audience to work with,” Bhandarkar said. “[They] are eager to try new

cuisine; they’re also eager to try well-executed cuisine.”

The partner that ACF picks also needs to be extremely flexible when it comes to menus and access to the kitchen. “Because we are serving chefs, we have a significant number of part-ners and sponsors who provide product that gets incorporated into our culinary experiences,” Bhandarkar said. “It really takes a property or venue with a strong commitment to the success of the program to facilitate not only incorporating those products into the menus but [also] the actual receipt of the product and the fabrication of the items on the plate.”

2 M A K E A L O C A L C O N N E C T I O N

With chefs from the central and West-ern states attending ChefConnect: Indy

— until this year ACF offered separate conferences for the Central, Northeast, Southeast, and Western regions — Bha-nadarkar amended the menus to reflect the event’s newly diverse audience. In a nod to the Midwest, one grill station served country-style pork ribs with peppercorn rub, Indiana spiced-chile cornbread in iron skillets, and glazed baby turnips with fiddlehead ferns. The West Coast was represented by a fresh ramen station with a miso-ginger-scal-lion option and a Peking-duck variation topped with shiitake sauce and West Coast–caught seafood.

Not only does this preference for local influences and purveyors add a fresh new element to ChefConnect’s menus and programming every year, it helps spotlight the host city’s culi-nary scene — which in Indianapolis is

Taste MakersThe American Culinary Federation has one tough audience to feed at its five annual events — its member chefs. Here’s how the organization continually impresses the best of the best of the food world.

033-034-F&B-final.indd 33 5/15/15 4:19 PM

3 4 P C M A C O N V E N E JUNE 2015 PCMA .ORG

ILL

US

TR

AT

ION

BY

BE

CI

OR

PIN

/ T

HE

JA

CK

Y W

INT

ER

GR

OU

P

f&BName Lastname

picking up big time. “Indianapolis is an urban destination surrounded by rich agriculture, so naturally we have a burgeoning culinary scene where it’s easy for chefs to source the freshest in local produce and proteins,” said Chris Gahl, vice president of marketing and communications at Visit Indy. “Hosting the conference provided a great oppor-tunity for our local chefs and culinary community to share their expertise, and it gave Indianapolis a chance to showcase the city’s thriving food scene.”

3 G O W H O L E H O G For ACF, F&B is integral to every part of the conference program — especially the education ses-sions — which can place extra demands on both the venue and the planning team. One well-attended session at ChefConnect was a butchering demon-stration of a 280-pound hog. To ensure the packed room could adequately view the intricate demonstration, a GoPro camera positioned over the worktable displayed a bird’s-eye view of the pro-cess on a large projection screen.

“Our members are much more inter-ested in what the hands of the presenter are doing rather than the face is doing,” said Bhandarkar, who said the cameras, used for the first time this year, worked perfectly in magnifying the detail of what presenters were preparing.

Another hurdle is ensuring that chef presenters have plenty of space and time to get ready for their sessions. Often, chefs come into the venue’s kitchens a day prior to prep their ingre-dients, and need at least an hour to set up the session room. “We don’t have the time for a quick meeting-room refresh,” Bhandarkar said, “especially when you have a whole hog hanging out.” .Contributing Editor Jennifer N. Dienst is a writer and editor based in Charleston, South Carolina.

T R E N D I N G

Would You Like Some Cheese With That Beer?

P lanning a cheese tasting for a future event? Consider swapping the typical wine pairings for beer. According to

presenters at ChefConnect: Indy’s “Craft Beer and Artisan Cheese Pairing” session, the advantages are many, including the fact that it’s easier and more affordable to pair cheese with beer instead of wine.

The session, which presented a selection of cheeses from Wisconsin-based Sartori Company and brews from Chicago’s Tenth and Blake Beer Company, highlighted the first and most important rule for cheese-and-beer mash-ups: Match flavor intensities. For example, pair a light Parmesan with a pale German lager, or a rich Gorgonzola with a heavy, creamy stout.

Below are the six pairings we sampled — all of which were delicious:

› Sarvecchio Parmesan & Leinenkugel Helles Yeah

› Sarvecchio Montamore & Leinenkugel’s Canoe Paddler

› Sarvecchio Rosemary and Olive Oil Asiago & Leinenkugel’s Grapefruit Shandy

› Sarvecchio Citrus Ginger BellaVitano & Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy

› Sarvecchio Dolcina Gorgonzola & Big Eddy Russian Imperial Stout

The ‘Whole Hog Butchery’ session

was packed.

033-034-F&B-final.indd 34 5/15/15 4:19 PM