Faculty: Research and Education
The teaching and research programs of the Menu R&D faculty span the fields of culinary arts, marketing, consumer behavior, management, restaurant operations logistics, food science, and education.
We have collectively developed our curriculum and continue to update our courses to keep them current and relevant to the ever changing food service industry professional and culinary student.
Chef Adam Busby, C.M.C.
Chef Busby is the Director of Education at CIA's Greystone Campus. He is one of only 62 Certified Master Chefs in the United States, having received this designation in February 2004. Chef Busby's research program focuses on the preservation of artisan foods, ancient cooking techniques and equipment. His current research project involves the codification of Mediterranean artisinal cheeses and "sensory finger printing" using Descriptive Analysis methodologies.
Sybil Yang, M.S., M.B.A.
Sybil received her Bachelors in Business Administration from the UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, and Masters of Management in Hospitality from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. She was a lecturing instructor of business management at the Culinary Institute of America's Hyde Park Campus, where she taught Menu Design and Planning, and Financial Management to America’s next generation of top chefs. Sybil is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in Consumer Behavior / Menu Psychology at Cornell's Hotel School. Her research focus is on menu design and development as it relates to consumer behavior and decision making. Sybil is currently working on a study on the effects of menu typography on purchasing behavior and perceived value.
Chef Mark D. Thomas (CIA, '72)
Chef Thomas is founder and President of M.D.T. LTD, an Atlanta based consulting group that provides global R&D strategies for restaurant operators, food service suppliers, and food and beverage manufacturers. He's an adjunct faculty for CIA teaching MenuMasters online courses, "The Culinary Art of Menu Research and Development" and "Operational Strategies for Menu Research and Development". Chef Thomas is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Georgia's Masters of Food Technology Program. He is the author of "Improving the success rate of new food product introductions", in Developing New Food Products for a Changing Marketplace, CRC Press, 2008; A.L. Brody and J.B. Lord, eds.
Professor Lisa Klein Pearo, Ph.D.
Professor Lisa Klein Pearo, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University. Dr. Klein Pearo received her D.B.A. in Marketing from the Harvard School of Business Administration, and a Bachelors of Arts from Yale University. She has authored many paper in peer reviewed journals on marketing and consumer behavior in multi-unit food service operations. Professor Klein Pearo is a CIA adjunct faculty teaching the MenuMasters online course, "Applications of Marketing and Consumer Behavior in Menu Research and Development".
Professor Chris Loss, Ph.D.
Professor Chris Loss, Ph.D., is the Ventrua Foods Chair for Menu Research and Development, at The Culinary Institute of America. Professor Loss received his culinary degree from The Culinary Institute of America in 1993, and Bachelors ('96), and Ph.D. ('06) in Food Science from Cornell University, with concentrations in Microbiology and Nutrition. He teaches the MenuMasters online Course, "Food Science and Technology Applications for Menu Research and Development", as well as Introduction to Gastronomy and Food Safety, as part of the A.O.S, degree program at the Greystone campus. His research program focuses on the development and evaluation of sustainable culinary practices and measuring consumer response to nutritional information in the food service environment.