A Success Story from our Scholarships Program
Jesus Lugo, International Schools of Culinary Arts at the Art Institute
2002 Stephan Pyles Scholarship Winner
 My name is Jesus Lugo and I am the 2002 Stephen Pyles culinary scholarship winner. I am originally from El Paso, and studied at the International School of Culinary Arts at the Art Institute of Houston. After graduating, I returned home as the Chef/Owner of La Cuesta Restaurant and Cantina to promote regional modern cooking.
In 2004 I was given the opportunity to teach as a part-time culinary instructor at El Paso Community College (EPCC) www.epcc.edu. My success at the Art Institute and the recognition from The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas played a pivotal role in these opportunities. At EPCC I began to work on my Executive Chef certification with the American Culinary Federation (ACF). In 2005 I successfully completed the practical testing and received the title of Certified Executive Chef (CEC).
In 2006 Chef Rick Webb and I began working on a very exciting project; the design of a new facility that would house the growing culinary arts program at EPCC. In that same year, I opened Hospitality Endeavors, a consulting company for restaurants and bars and was also offered a tenure track position at EPCC.
Chef Lugo was awarded Chef of the Year and Educator of the Year by the American Culinary Federation Greater El Paso Chapter in 2007.
Now the road has come to a new turn, when the new 5.4 million dollar culinary arts facility opens in the fall of 2009. I have never felt the satisfaction of raw passion till I came to EPCC. I love teaching. It is like no other job in the world. I truly feel that my success is a testament to the vision of the Stephan Pyles scholarship offered by The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas.
A Success Story from our Grants Program
The Grape Doctor
Texas A&M project involving Texas AgriLife Extension and Texas AgriLife Research.
Led by Ed Hellman, PhD
Professor of Viticulture and Extension Specialist Texas AgriLife Extension Service Agricultural Research and Extension Center
The Grape Doctor is an online interactive decision-support tool to assist grape producers with diagnosing problems in their vineyard. Grape producers are always concerned about maintaining the health of their vines and are constantly on the lookout for signs that vines are not in perfect condition. They want to take corrective action as soon as a problem is observed, but sometimes it is difficult to determine the nature of the problem. The Grape Doctor assists the vineyard manager in sorting through the symptoms or signs of grapevine problems leading to a diagnosis of the most likely causes.
Currently, the Grape Doctor database contains symptomatic and descriptive information for more than 160 problems. Soon, the final webpage portal for experts will be completed, enabling grape experts worldwide to add to and further improve the database. Finishing touches to make the website more user-friendly are being made and the public launch is anticipated by the end of 2009.
Development of the Grape Doctor was initiated with a grant from the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas. This initial grant helped leverage additional funding from the Viticulture Consortium – West and the American Vineyard Foundation. Support from the Foundation and other agencies has been critical to the creation of a new concept in vineyard management tools.
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