Marcus Samuelsson and Mark Weiss, board co-chairs of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), announced that Aaron Bludorn, Mark Kornblau, and Stanislas Vilgrain have been elected to the C-CAP’s Board of Directors. C-CAP is a pioneer and national leader in providing culinary career-readiness programs and educational opportunities to underserved high school students.
Aaron Bludorn is Executive Chef at Café Boulud, Mark Kornblau is Senior Vice President of Communications for NBCUniversal News Group, and Stanislas Vilgrain is Chairman and CEO of Cuisine Solutions.
“We are thrilled to have these dynamic individuals join C-CAP. They will bring tremendous support to our organization and provide their expertise to C-CAP’s president Karen Brosius and the board to achieve our goal of empowering young culinary achievers around the country to succeed through culinary education and job training,” says Marcus Samuelsson, C-CAP Board Co-Chair.
Aaron Bludorn has held all positions in the kitchen at this Michelin star restaurant since 2009. Before cooking at Sonoma’s Cyrus restaurant for three years under Michelin-starred Chef Douglas Keane, Bludorn attended the Culinary Institute of America, followed by an internship at Seattle’s Canlis Restaurant. He then joined the Café Boulud team and worked his way up from the fish station, to Sous Chef, to Chef de Cuisine, and now Executive Chef. He has been a great mentor to many C-CAP students and has hired them for various positions in his kitchen.
Mark Kornblau oversees the communications strategy for the NBCUniversal News Group, partnering with the communicators and business leads at NBC News and MSNBC. Kornblau was Managing Director of Corporate Communications for JPMorgan Chase, and he served as Communications Director and Spokesman for Ambassador Susan Rice at the United States Mission to the United Nations. He has served in senior communications roles on two U.S. presidential campaigns, on Capitol Hill and on U.S. House and Senate campaigns. He was also Vice President of Corporate Communications at Zagat Survey. Kornblau received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Stanislas Vilgrain was appointed chief executive officer of Cuisine Solutions in 1993, having served as president, chief operating officer, and director since 1991. Prior to joining Cuisine Solutions, he served as president of the Vie de France Culinary Division in many roles including director of staff operations, manager of the Vie de France Corporation’s San Francisco bakery, and assistant manager of the Denver bakery. Prior to joining Vie de France Corporation, Mr. Vilgrain was assistant to the director of research and development for the bakery division of Grands Moulins de Paris and regional manager of operations and sales for O.F.U.P., a publication distributor in Paris, France. Stanislas Vilgrain earned an MBA in Finance from Université Paris Dauphine, Paris. He was awarded the Ernst & Young 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Hospitality Award for the greater Washington D.C. area. In 2015, Vilgrain was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French president for his work in strengthening cultural and business relations between France and the U.S.
Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) is a national non-profit that educates and guides underserved high school students toward a bright future. Through its holistic approach to culinary training and career exploration, C-CAP prepares students for the workplace through chef mentoring, field trips, job shadows, work experience and job skills, and college and career advising. Founded in 1990 by culinary educator and cookbook author Richard Grausman, C-CAP impacts over 17,500 students a year and has also awarded over $56 million in scholarships since its inception. Countless C-CAP alumni work throughout the country and are guiding the future leaders of the culinary and hospitality industry.
