Huntsville, AL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/03/2018 -- Popular Alabamian Chef Darrell Echols was recently chosen by the prestigious United States Department of Agriculture to teach US southern cuisine in India. The program titled "The American Food Festival" was a big hit back in October 2017 and Echols is once again invited by USDA to attend its additional train-the-trainer activities program scheduled for June and September this year.
The American Food Festival was conducted at Windmills Craftworks from October 22, 2017, to November 5, 2017, and was attended by more than 100 chefs, cooks and other culinary professionals in India. Some additional training sessions were also conducted at Oota, The Terrace, Clover Greens Golf Club, T John College, Christ College, Culinary Academy of India, MS Ramahia, The Smoke Co., and Garden City College.
The event started with demonstration of several American items that can benefit the Indian market which included shelled pecans, various sausages, Mississippi catfish, primal and sub primal cuts of beef, pork, collard greens, kale, turnip greens, barbeque spice rubs, Cajun/Creole seasoning such as Paul Prudhomme, lemons, grapefruit, avocado, celery, prepared condiments such as salsas, cured deli meats, all cheeses, specialty French fries, seafood products like canned crab, individually quick frozen fish fillets, processed lobster, heavy cream, unsweetened fruit purees, and frozen fruit such as peaches and pineapples.
Many local chefs expressed their willingness to add more and more US products in their catalog as this will likely give them the ability to produce globally inspired fusion dishes. They also showed their readiness to receive packaged products, if they are of high quality. Cajun/Creole and Barbeque were two specific areas within US Southern Cuisine that generated most interest during the duration of the festival. The program was considered a massive success as all parties involved agreed that the extensive knowledge base of the culture and cuisines taught during the program will help them come up with better-prepared menus in the future.
Having received a letter from the Sr. Attaché from USDA thanking him for the activity, Chef Darrell Echols was quoted as saying, " First of all I would like to thank USDA for handing over this wonderful opportunity to train Indian students, cooks, and chefs about Southern American Soul Food. We believe that this activity was successful in many ways in that all parties agreed that the training would carry on for years to come, from near and far. I just can't wait to once again become part of this trainer based program that provides enduring benefits for U.S. agricultural interests in India."
About Chef Darrell Echols
Chef Darrell Echols is a chef instructor at J.F. Drake State Community & Technical College located in Huntsville, Alabama. Chef Echols has been leading the culinary arts department since 2012 at J.F. Drake. Although a small college, great things are happening within the program where good cooks are trained to be great chefs. Chef Echols has been a caterer, restaurant owner and consultant, menu designer, food writer and TV show host.
Contact:
Contact Person: Darrell Echols
Contact number: 256-551-5204
Email: darrell.echols@drakestate.edu
Website: www.drakestate.edu