Many educational seminars feature expert speakers, quizzes and field trips. Fewer include a breakdown of a beef carcass, and fewer still involve a cooking competition involving those same muscles that were discussed in that breakdown. Those professionals who attend the Associate’s in Meat program at the Certified Angus Beef Culinary Center in Wooster, Ohio received a wide-ranging education in beef over the course of a week.
CAB has run a Master’s of Brand Advantage (MBA) program for eight years, but that course is a three-week program. This Associate’s class offers a one-week focus on cut identification and sales skills. The first program, from July 30-August 1, was attended primarily by foodservice distributors. Brett Erickson, director of value-added products at CAB, said that the attendees wanted to be able to speak to their foodservice clientele in a more knowledgeable manner.