HYDE PARK, N.Y. – The Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program, a collaboration between The Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods Corporation, will welcome 16 new students to the program at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus on Oct. 19.

Members of this CEIP Class of 2012, with representatives from 12 different states, will begin their 18-month journey of culinary excellence following the graduation of the inaugural class earlier this year. CEIP is the only professional development program to offer advanced management training specifically designed for skilled chefs.

“As CEIP grows, reaching deeper into the industry and involving more chefs through personal experience and word-of-mouth, we anticipate that our alumni will truly represent the future leadership of the American culinary world,” said Ron DeSantis, CMC, director of CIA Consulting and co-founder of CEIP.

The CEIP Class of 2012 includes chefs from eight commercial and eight non-commercial foodservice establishments, representing colleges and universities, healthcare, food-management services, fine-dining, quick-service and fast-casual operations.

“The goal is for these chefs to begin to think differently about every aspect of their work, so that they will bring a new level of vision to their organizations and to the industry at large,” said Dennis Goettsch, vice president of marketing for the foodservice division of Hormel Foods Corporation, and co-founder of the program.

For more information on the program and the Class of 2012, visit www.ceipinfo.com.