Source: Missy Schrader, schrader@k-state.edu
Photo available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
Pronouncer: Butel is Bue-tell.
Note to editors: Chiles refers to peppers. Chili is the Tex-Mex stew made with chile peppers and meat and often, although never in Texas, beans. Chili sauce and chili powder contain chiles and other ingredients.
News release prepared by: Jane Marshall, 785-532-1519, jpm2@k-state.edu

Monday, Feb. 1, 2010

CHILE QUEEN JANE BUTEL TO PRESENT WORKSHOPS AT K-STATE

MANHATTAN -- Jane Butel wears the title Chile Queen with aplomb. She is often credited with starting the Tex-Mex cooking craze and has written and taught about Southwestern and regional Mexican cuisine.

After graduating from K-State's College of Human Ecology with a degree in home economics and journalism and landing in such hefty positions as vice president for American Express in New York, Butel became a devotee of the chile and its accompanying cuisines. She has written "Real Women Eat Chiles," published by Northland in 2006, and 19 other cookbooks.

Butel will bring her internationally famous skills to K-State Thursday, Feb. 25, and Friday Feb. 26, for the annual Culinary Enhancement Workshop sponsored by the department of hospitality management and dietetics.

"Flavors of the Sizzlin' Southwest," the Feb. 25 workshop for food service professionals and alumni, is limited to 50 attendees. The first 30 to register will make tamales in an hourlong hands-on session with Butel. Registration for the workshop, to be in Derby Dining Center, closes Friday, Feb. 12. Cost ranges from $100 for an individual to $500 for Culinary Leader sponsorship. Registration includes demonstrated recipes, lunch, beverages and a copy of her 2008 book from Workman, "Chili Madness, a Passionate Cookbook by Jane Butel."

On Feb. 26, Butel will repeat the workshop with K-State students.

Butel's cooking school in New Mexico, named one of the best in the U.S. by Gayot.com and Bon Appetit magazine, has been featured in publications around the world. She also conducts culinary tours in Mexico and Spain.

Her topics at K-State will be chili madness, corn craze and the evolving Southwest. Lunch will feature her favorite recipes.

For information, contact Missy Schrader at schrader@k-state.edu. To register by phone, call Charla Henry at 785-532-7536 or 800-432-1578.