{"id":23240,"date":"2019-10-15T19:52:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-15T19:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gomc.mcservices.com\/?page_id=23240"},"modified":"2021-08-19T10:27:15","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T15:27:15","slug":"allured-fund-previous-grant-recipient-comments","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/allured-fund-previous-grant-recipient-comments\/","title":{"rendered":"Allured Fund previous grant recipient comments"},"content":{"rendered":"
Attended: AACT Technical Seminar 2015<\/span><\/strong>
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\u00a0\u201cAs a graduate student in food science at Penn State, I am passionate\u00a0about the food industry. Thanks to the generous people at AACT and
\nespecially those at the Allured fund, I am now equally as passionate about\u00a0the confectionery industry!<\/span><\/div>\n
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After receiving my B.S. in food science from Purdue University, I knew that I\u00a0preferred to pursue a career in product development. I wanted to expand\u00a0my critical thinking skills, so I decided to head off to graduate school. I had\u00a0always loved candy and other sweet food products, and I became involved\u00a0with members of the AACT alongside my research. Intrigued by the difficult\u00a0problems that face a confectionery technologist, I was very interested in\u00a0attending the AACT technical conference in the fall. I was able to attend this\u00a0year\u2019s conference schedule-wise, but financial limitations were making it\u00a0more difficult. The Allured fund graciously offered me a scholarship that\u00a0made it possible for me to attend the sessions.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I very much enjoyed this year\u2019s AACT conference. I love that the sessions\u00a0include many different points of view in the proceedings. A small-scale bean\u00a0to bar processor spoke about the challenges of bean sourcing and bar\u00a0production right after a flavor technologist discussed the technical difficulties\u00a0of natural versus artificial flavors. The variety of topics was pretty incredible.\u00a0<\/span>My favorite talk was Dr. Rich Hartel\u2019s research on fat bloom in chocolate. I\u00a0had previously only understood bloom in a general sense, but his talk was\u00a0thoughtful and made me think more about what causes polymorphism in fat\u00a0crystals and the physical change in appearance on the surface of the\u00a0chocolate. I also really enjoyed Chuck Dodson\u2019s presentation on the\u00a0commercial growth of mint. I knew absolutely nothing about the vast world
\nof mint, and Chuck\u2019s talk included samples of mint aromas that helped me\u00a0differentiate between spearmint, peppermint, and many others.\u00a0<\/span>I am finishing my Master\u2019s degree in May, so the AACT is an important\u00a0networking opportunity in addition to an amazing educational event. Without\u00a0the Allured fund, I would not have been able to attend this conference. I am\u00a0extremely thankful for the grant awarded to me. Thank you so much!
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Attended: PMCA Production Conference 2015<\/span><\/strong>
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\u00a0\u201cMy experience at PMCA was genuinely one that I will not forget\u2014from the\u00a0wealth of information presented during the Basics and Beyond seminars to\u00a0the massive collection of candy received after the dinner. At the Basics and\u00a0Beyond presentations, I gained valuable information about the proper use of\u00a0various fats in chocolate production and how new regulations may effect\u00a0formulations. The live demonstrations brought to life the messages\u00a0presented, and it was remarkable how the different cocoa butter replacers\u00a0could be detected in the chocolate samples provided. Moving on from the\u00a0Monday morning presentations, the exhibit hall was truly impressive.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Though I am the manager of a chocolate production team myself, the\u00a0saying \u201csmall fish in a big pond\u201d has never been more relevant in my life\u00a0thus far. Such noteworthy companies were present, and the innovative\u00a0products and machinery were stunning. My co-manager and I were inspired\u00a0by several booths on ways to improve our products and our efficiencies.\u00a0The flavors tasted stunned us; from a flaming hot peach gum to a hard\u00a0candy that remarkably resembled an Arabica bean, the science being done\u00a0in the flavor chemistry realm brings a smile to my face. It was inspirational\u00a0to see and connect with people who shared my passion for the development\u00a0of innovative food products and the chemistry behind them.<\/span><\/div>\n
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On Tuesday especially, several of the presenters seemed so young, and yet\u00a0so successful. I once believed that in order to attain positions such\u00a0prestigious positions as R&D manager or to be even considered to address\u00a0such prominent confectioners and actually influence the direction of their\u00a0product development would require decades of experience and a collection\u00a0of degrees. Yet these individuals proved extremely knowledgeable,\u00a0respected, and purposeful. I know that for me personally, the presentations\u00a0on trends in the industry sparked ideas for product development at Cal Poly\u00a0Chocolates, and from the questions posed by others, it was evident other\u00a0companies were interested as well.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0It was the first presentation bright and early Tuesday morning that spoke to\u00a0me most. Laura Shumow from the NCA spoke of the new laws and\u00a0regulations concerning labeling and formulation, and as a small business\u00a0that does not have anyone truly plugged in to the FDA network, the\u00a0information she presented was invaluable. I found myself jotting down page\u00a0after page of notes and penning multiple questions for her to answer. Cal\u00a0Poly Chocolates will certainly benefit from this information, but furthermore I\u00a0feel that I will benefit from hearing Laura speak. Her passion for the material\u00a0and her job was evident, and as I have multiple times considered pursuing\u00a0food laws and regulations, I was ignited by her passion and eager to look\u00a0into her career path. I could see myself standing in her shoes in the future.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0To me, that is what the opportunity meant: a kindling to the torch of my\u00a0passion for the confectionary world. Sitting next to a long-standing scientist\u00a0at Hershey during dinner, chatting with a member of the Mars team over\u00a0lunch, and listening to the esteemed president of the NCA following\u00a0Tuesday\u2019s dinner were just some of the experiences I had the pleasure of\u00a0partaking in thanks to the Allured grant. I did not realize how interconnected\u00a0the professionals of confections are, and what a genuinely friendly,\u00a0innovative, impressive, and happy collection of individuals they are. I hope\u00a0one day to no longer be the small fish in this big pond, but to be a full-\u00a0fledged member and contribute to the industry.<\/span><\/div>\n
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\u00a0 During dinner, when the awards were presented, Jane Cottonaro of\u00a0Hershey turned to my co-manager and me and said, \u201cThat is going to be\u00a0you up there one day.\u201d I cannot think of a greater joy to look forward to, and\u00a0I plan to work diligently to live up to her prophesy. The Allured grant enabled\u00a0me to further my knowledge of confectionary science and trends, but more\u00a0so to ignite my passion, interact with the industry, and envision my future.\u201d
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Attended: RCI Creams, Fondents & Fudges 2014<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
My RCI experience in Dayton, OH was amazing! The instructors were\u00a0phenomenal, it was truly amazing how much information they knew. I felt\u00a0like there was a great mix of in class learning and hands on instruction, it\u00a0was fun to try out new recipes and new cooking methods and seeing how\u00a0each one makes the product a little bit different. But I think my favorite part\u00a0was learning from the other chocolatiers at the course, we all had our\u00a0specialties, and everyone was willing and excited to help their fellow course-\u00a0mates solve whatever problems they had. As for Esther Price, they were\u00a0wonderful and I would like to give them a huge thank you for opening their\u00a0factory for us to learn in, and even more so for actually running the\u00a0machines and doing some real production. For me it showed where my\u00a0goals can be set, and just how big this kind of a business can get. The\u00a0employees were exceptionally kind and helpful.\u201d
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Attended: AACT Technical Seminar 2014<\/span><\/strong>
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\u201cAs a food science student at Purdue University trying to break into the\u00a0confectionery world, it can be difficult to make connections and learn about\u00a0candy science. There are very few industry connections at Purdue that deal\u00a0with this sweet world. Michelle Frame, one of the very few candy Purdue\u00a0alumna, offered that I should try to attend the AACT conference in order to\u00a0meet all of the important technical people in the industry. After figuring out\u00a0how to fit a day of the conference into my schedule, the Allured fund very\u00a0generously sponsored me at the event by paying for my registration fee.<\/span><\/div>\n
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At the conference, I had an amazing experience. I learned so many exciting\u00a0new things while also meeting tons of fantastic people. My favorite talk was\u00a0by far the caramel discussion from University of Wisconsin. I never knew so\u00a0much about caramel and the different problems it posed in production. I loved getting to see, taste, and feel the different caramels and their pitfalls.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Another great talk was the cooling effects of fats. In my education, we\u2019ve always talked about the cooling effects of sugar alcohols, but never that of fats. I learned a lot about how the structure of fat influences many sensory characteristics in products. Another event that I really enjoyed was the Iron Confectioner competition. I thought it was not only fun to watch, but fun to try all of the products that the competitors made. It\u2019s always interesting to learn about how different people conceptualize one ingredient\u2019s inclusion.<\/span><\/div>\n
The people at the conference could possibly be the best part about the experience. Everyone was so friendly and knowledgeable, that it solidified my interest in the field. I loved networking and learning about all of the different companies that were represented at the conference. Michelle Frame became my pseudo-mentor and introduced me to everyone she knew (which was basically everyone there). She was a help to me more than she knows.<\/span><\/div>\n
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I really enjoyed the AACT, and the grant provided by the Allured fund made it possible. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to have exposure to the confectionery industry. Be on the lookout for me at future conferences!\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Attended: AACT Technical Seminar 2015 \u00a0\u201cAs a graduate student in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23240"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23240"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37450,"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23240\/revisions\/37450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gomc.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}