Central’s Chef Emeritus Wolf Earns ProStart Educator of Excellence Award

Scott Carlson (l), president of Iowa Restaurant Association, presents the 2014 ProStart Educator of Excellence Award to Elaine Wolf.

Central Campus chef emeritus Elaine Wolf was presented with the 2014 ProStart Educator of Excellent Award by the Iowa Restaurant Association. The award recognizes Wolf’s success at building Central’s culinary arts programs into one of the best in the nation, and honors the legacy she leaves behind at the school.

Below is the article from the current issue of Food & Beverage Iowa Industry Quarterly, the trade publication of the Iowa Restaurant Association, announcing their recognition of Wolf:

Des Moines Central Campus had to build a state-of-the-art kitchen to keep up with Culinary Educator Elaine Wolf’s flourishing ProStart program. The 2013 Iowa Teacher of the Year Finalist earned a degree in Restaurant Management from Miami University of Ohio in 1974 and blazed a trail of success from the get go. From institutional food to fine dining to teaching, Wolf’s resume reads like a menu of achievements.

Wolf introduced the ProStart Program into Des Moines Central Campus in 2004. She quickly realized that the school’s 1950’s kitchen did not provide the equipment her students needed.

She sought grants and over $100,000 later, Wolf and her students were excited to begin construction on their new culinary classrooms. Wolf retired at the end of 2013 and leaves a strong classroom and competition program.

Case in point, to help fund their competitions, Wolf and her students partnered with local chef and now Wolf’s successor Chef John Andres to host biannual dinners for the public at Bos Restaurant in the Renaissance Savery Hotel. Thanks to her persistence in building the program, Wolf is not just viewed as a teacher.

“She has been a manager, coach, cheerleader, advisor and a mentor to her students,” said May Schaben, Executive Director of the Iowa Restaurant Association Education Foundation. “Her passion for the culinary arts and dedication to her students made Wolf an obvious choice for the 2014 ProStart Educator of Excellence Award.”