The Culinary Arts Museum acquires a piece of a RI Icon

So a museum employee (we'll call him Steve) was driving down Richmond Street one day and saw that a new restaurant was moving into where Stanley's once stood. "What are you doing with that sign?" he asks. Next thing I know, it's arriving here on the museum loading dock (there is obviously much more to this story that I am leaving out). Needless to say, the museum has a new acquisition that's sure to make your mouth water.

Stanley's is a staple for many a Rhode Islander, and for those who don't know it, you should really give it a try (the original restaurant on Dexter Street in Central Falls is still open). The restaurant was started in 1932 by a Polish immigrant named Stanley Kryla, who wanted to sell an affordable, home-cooked, flavorful product to customers in the midst of the Great Depression.

Now owned by Gregory Raheb, Stanley's is committed to using the freshest ingredients sold at affordable prices, just as Mr. Kryla intended 80 years ago. If you're ever in the Providence area, Stanley's should definitely be a stop on your culinary travels.

Below is a quick slideshow of the sign being taken down and strapped in for transport to the Culinary Arts Museum. A huge thank you to the guys at Dexter Sign Co. for all of their help. Photos were taken by Steve Spencer, museum operations manager.

What's new at the CAM this weekend?

We're glad you asked! We have two items to report:

First up:
There is a new wedding cake on display in our bakery case, and it was made by our very own
Student Assistant, Emmalee Santioni.

According to Emmalee, "this Wildflower Wedding Cake was made for a bride who is a 'lil bit country.' It is decorated with leather bands, lace, and the classic cowboy necktie - the bolo tie. The Keith Anderson song 'Pickin Wildflowers' was the inspiration for the cake design."

All decorative elements on this cake are crafted with edible material.

And the next bit of news:
It's ICC (Intra-collegiate Culinary Competition) time! On Saturday, February 4, the Denver, Miami, and Charlotte campus teams will come to Providence to compete against one another for the coveted ICC trophy. Museum Student Assistant, Courtney Staiano, is a competitor on the ICC Pastry team. Join us in wishing all teams the best of luck. But because we're a bit partial here, let's focus most of that luck on the Providence team. After all, we have been looking at a mere photo of the trophy here in the museum since 2009.

The Ever Ready gets a neon name tag

On Wednesday, December 21, 2011 the Dexter Sign Co. was at the museum, installing a replica neon sign for the Ever Ready. Museum Operations Manager (and photographer extraordinaire), Stephen Spencer, shot some photos of the action.

Gingerbread Habitats for Humanity

On Friday, December 16, 2011, the JWU Chapter of Habitat for Humanity hosted a gingerbread competition and silent auction here at the Culinary Arts Museum. All proceeds went to benefit Habitat for Humanity.

Nineteen gingerbread houses were on display, and were built by members of the Johnson & Wales community, employees and students alike. Below are the fantastic creations that were made for the contest. You may even recognize some of the buildings!

The Culinary Arts Museum will be closed for the holiday break

 

Holiday Hours:

The museum will be closed from Friday, December 23, 2011 - Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Regular hours will resume on Wednesday January 4, 2012

We wish you all a very happy holiday and a safe and happy new year!!

And the butter lives on

On Sunday, June 26 Norma "Duffy" Lyon passed away in Marshalltown, IA.  If the name doesn't ring a cow bell to you, perhaps you have heard of the "Butter-Cow Lady" of the Iowa State Fair.  Ms. Lyon studied animal science at Iowa State University in the late 1940s.  Her artistic talent was discovered by an artist-in-residence there after he saw an ice sculpture that she had made for the university's winter festival. In 1960, she became the official sculptor of the life-sized Butter Cow, the dairy industry's symbol at the Iowa State Fair since 1911. Ms. Lyon also made sculptures of celebrities, comic-strip characters, and themes from well-known works of art. Her most ambitious sculpture was a recreation of "The Last Supper," made in 1999.

Although we never had the privilege of having her at our own country fair midway (if you've never been here before, yes, we do have our very own scaled-down version of a midway - smack dab in the center of the museum - as part of our "Country Fair to Culinary Olympics" exhibit), she certainly was a presence known at many fairs across the country. She was such a well-known and influential force in Iowa that Barack Obama asked for her endorsement during his election campaign there in 2007.  Ms. Lyon appeared on several television shows, including "Today," "The Tonight Show," and on "Late Night With David Letterman."  She retired from butter sculpting at the Iowa State Fair in 2006.

In butter-related news, the Iowa state fair kicked off this week. And, of course, Duffy was mentioned in this New York Times article about the 100 year legacy of the state fair. Chef Gary Welling of Johnson & Wales also weighed in on the history of the dairy sculpture. Here's to all the deep-fried food on a stick that you can eat!

Bruce Newbury is bringing his broadcast back to the museum!

Local radio host Bruce Newbury will broadcast his show, "The Tasting Room," live from the Culinary Arts Museum on Sunday, August 7, 2011.  "The Tasting Room" airs Sundays from 11:00 am - 12:00 noon.

If you can't make it to the museum on Sunday, tune in to your local radio station: AM790 in the Providence - Newport, RI - New Bedford - Cape Cod MA area, 830AM in the Boston - Worcester MA - NH - ME - VT area or 980 AM in the New London - Eastern CT region.