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THE CULINARY ADVANTAGE CONSULTING ™ Your Success is Our Business
THE CULINARY ADVANTAGECONSULTING™
Your Success is Our Business
[email protected] www.ciaprochef.com/consulting
Why Partner with CIA Consulting?
You’ll instantly have some of the best “palates
for hire” on your team. CIA Consulting’s
culinary and business credentials are impeccable
and our passion for food and cooking is
unmatched. Our expert consulting team,
including Certified Master Chefs and members
of the world-famous CIA faculty, is at your
service, bringing an unbeatable combination of
creativity, technical expertise, and visionary
thinking to every project.
CIA Consulting also leverages its strategic
partnerships with experts such as The National
Food Lab to deliver turnkey solutions. The NFL’s
strengths in product commercialization, safety,
and manufacturing are the perfect complement
to CIA Consulting’s knowledge of culinary arts,
menu R&D, and flavor development.
And not only will the culinary world’s top talent
be working for you, they’ll be doing it using the
exceptional resources and facilities of The
Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park, NY;
St. Helena, CA; and San Antonio, TX campuses.
Learn more about CIA Consulting’s core team at
www.ciaprochef.com/consulting/team.html.
At a Glance
Industry Trends Affecting Your Business
CIA Consulting can help you respond by:
With today’s industry challenges come
opportunities. Let CIA Consulting help
you capitalize on these opportunities to
achieve sustained growth and profitability.
• Rising expectations of food by increasingly
sophisticated consumers
• Growing customer demand for authen-
ticity, flavor variety, and convenience
• Consumers’ desire to be “connected with”
their food and dining experiences
• Increased availability and diversity of
food products
• Fierce competition, increased price
pressures, and thinning margins
• Developing innovative commercial
products that meet customer expectations
• Strengthening or extending your brand
• Getting new products and solutions to
market faster
• Building a culinary culture and knowledge
base in your organization
• Saving you time and money by developing
the right solution
4 www.ciaprochef.com/consulting [email protected]
Product Innovation
Menu and product R&D Innovation is the engine that drives growth.
Let CIA Consulting help you innovate in
ways that support your strategic plan. We’ll
identify opportunities to create new products
and menu items as well as optimize your
current offerings.
How does our innovation process work?
CIA Consulting and key members of your
culinary, R&D, marketing, operations, and
executive teams embark on a three- to four-
day collaborative work session. We typically
start with ideation and conclude with your
walking away with a viable protocept and an
ingredient punch list.
Learn more about our culinary-driven concept
development process at www.ciaprochef.
com/consulting.
Ingredient substitution applicationsHow can you remove trans fats from your
product and still make it taste as delicious as
the original? Is there a less-expensive ingredient
you can substitute without any loss of perceived
quality? We’ll identify the precise ingredient
substitutions and ratio adjustments you need to
achieve the desired results for your products—
and your profits.
Brand and line re-energizationCould one of your brands or product lines use
some new energy? Our consultants can help
you increase your product’s value by developing
new applications for its use. We can also
develop recipes, craft culinary tips, and assist in
creating other fresh content that will resonate
with your target demographic and drive sales.
Sensory evaluationIf you have a product that’s losing coveted
supermarket shelf space or underperforming
on your menu, it’s time to bring in the experts.
Send CIA Consulting your product—or a
new one you have under development—and
we’ll evaluate its visual appearance, flavor,
mouthfeel, and other sensory characteristics.
We’ll then recommend changes that will
increase your product’s appeal to customers.
Product competitive analysisFind out how your food product or equipment
stacks up. Our chef-consultants will evaluate
your product against the competition as well
as the CIA gold standard. If yours comes out
on top, you’ll have the makings of an “In an
independent study conducted by the CIA…”
marketing claim. And if your product is ranked
lower, we’ll suggest improvements. Either way,
you come out ahead.
Bringing ideas to market:
We’ll work with you to develop a new
product or energize an existing one.
6 www.ciaprochef.com/consulting [email protected]
Strategy and Design
Menu strategyYour menu is your “map of the world”—the overall vision
that drives everything that happens in your restaurant.
Talk with us about your current menu and your business
objectives. We’ll work with you to develop a menu concept,
right down to the ideal mix of appetizers, entrées, and
desserts, and the recipes you need to prepare them all. Your
menu strategy will also include a plan for the décor and
service staff necessary to support your concept and keep
your customers coming back for more.
Operations assessmentOpen up your operations to our team, and get a thorough,
impartial assessment that will help you improve efficiency
and drive down costs. We’ll start by requesting data in
advance of an on-site evaluation. Then our consultants
will perform a walkthrough of your operations, looking at
everything from how you do your purchasing to how you
schedule your staff, and every detail in between.
Facility conceptual designAre you getting the most from your company’s physical
assets? Have our consultants evaluate your current kitchen
or production facility to find out. We’ll create a 2-D drawing
of a high-performance layout that’s designed for optimal
workflow, concept expression, and the most efficient and
safety-conscious use of equipment. You’ll see measurable
results in cost control, productivity, and profitability.
Front-of-the-house evaluationThere’s a science to service, and we can help you maximize
the effectiveness of your front-of-the-house operations.
Decisions that are seemingly as simple as where you position
the plates and napkins in a buffet line can have a significant
impact on its efficacy and profitability. We’ll take a look
at your service challenges and work within the physical
constraints of your facility to develop a custom strategy.
Moving your business forward:
Our insightful assessments and tactical
solutions yield measurable results.
8 www.ciaprochef.com/consulting [email protected]
Culinary culture developmentYou’re in the food business—but does your organization
have a culinary culture? We can help you institute the pride,
professionalism, and passion for food your culinary team
needs for top performance and customer satisfaction. Our
consultants will provide a custom program that will shed
new light on what it means to be a chef today.
Certified culinary sales professional programSales is all about relationships. So it makes perfect sense that
your culinary salespeople need to be able to speak the same
language as the chefs they interact with. The CCSP program
will give them a hands-on understanding of the challenges
of the professional kitchen—and give your company a
reputation for delivering expert solutions.
Flavor discovery sessionsDeveloping your flavor IQ is crucial to understanding how
to make your products more appealing. Through interactive
tastings and hands-on cooking exercises, our seminars
introduce you to the many factors that affect flavor, as well
as key flavor principles such as balance and layering.
Culinary enrichment and innovation programDeveloped by the CIA and Hormel Foods Corporation,
the CEIP provides experienced chefs with valuable insights
on creativity, innovation, leadership, and management.
Composed of four, three-day intensive sessions held over the
course of 18 months, this exclusive program is ideal for busy
professionals. Learn more at www.ceipinfo.com.
Lectures and demosCreate a memorable team-building event or give a reward or
incentive to your top performers. CIA Consulting can provide
a custom program on anything from flavor dynamics to food
and wine pairing. These fun, interactive sessions can be held
at the CIA or at your location.
Photo shootsDo you have a special company project or new promotional
materials that would benefit from professionally styled
and photographed food? Whether you need photos for
your e-newsletter or a new cookbook, you can tap into
CIA Consulting’s culinary expertise and the talents of the
college’s full-service photography staff.
Corporate retreatsLook no further than the CIA for your next staff retreat.
Our scenic Hudson Valley location has the feel of a peaceful
getaway, while the energy of our campus community is sure
to inspire. The CIA Consulting support staff will host your
event in our 150-seat demonstration theater and take care
of all the details of your day away.
Culinary Training Industry Services
Building a foundation of knowledge:
Helping you invest in your most valuable
assets is the CIA’s specialty.
Meeting your organization’s needs:
Let us help you increase the impact of your
next custom project or event.
10 www.ciaprochef.com/consulting [email protected]
How We Work With You Who We Work With
Our working relationships with clients are as
different as the clients themselves. In general,
however, there are some things that all CIA
Consulting partnerships have in common:
Our long list of satisfied clients includes
companies large and small, in foodservice
and hospitality and beyond. CIA Consulting
is proud to partner with established
industry leaders and up-and-coming
ventures alike, in industries as varied as:
And we’re happy to keep our relationship
with you completely confidential or, if you
prefer, share news of our partnership and
your success with others.
See a listing of some of our valued partners
at www.ciaprochef.com/consulting/
clients.html.
We get to know your company.No one knows your business and your customers better than
you do. We want to hear all about your mission, values,
ideas, and objectives so we can work together to develop
the perfect custom solutions.
You get a dedicated CIA consultant.Right from the start, we’ll assign a member of our core
team of chef-consultants, who’ll be with you for the life of
your project.
We work with you where it makes the most sense.Depending on your needs, we’ll convene at the CIA main
campus in Hyde Park, NY; the CIA at Greystone in St.
Helena, CA; the CIA San Antonio in Texas; your location; or
elsewhere.
You tell us what you want— and what you don’t. Every client is different, so we tailor our process to your
needs and only provide the services you require.
Beverage
Club
Distribution
Education
Food Manufacturing
Foodservice Management
Hotel and Cruise
In-Flight Catering
Military
Non-Foodservice
Restaurant
THE CULINARY ADVANTAGECONSULTING™
[email protected] www.ciaprochef.com/consulting
Ted Russin, MSc, Director 845-905-4427
David Kamen, PC III, CHE, Project Manager 845-451-1386
©2012 The Culinary Institute of America. Photography: Keith Ferris, Ben Fink, Anne Rettig, Nicola Shayer, and Lorna Smith. The CIA at Greystone and the CIA San Antonio are branches of the CIA, Hyde Park, NY.
The Culinary Institute of America
1946 Campus Drive Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499
The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone
2555 Main Street St. Helena, CA 94574
The Culinary Institute of America San Antonio
312 Pearl Parkway, Building 2, Suite 2102 San Antonio, TX 78215
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