CALGARY — With 2010 rapidly drawing to a close, Calgary Herald writer Liane Faulder has compiled a list of predicted culinary trends for the new year.

Drawing from newly released cookbooks such as food writer Michelle Genest’s wild food primer The Boreal Gourmet, foodie-lauded websites such as Epicurious.com and Vancouver’s growing street-food card trend, the Herald writer offers food enthusiasts a humorous rundown of what to expect on the menu in 2011.

CALGARY — Alberta is set to change how it monitors the oilsands in the new year amid controversy that the organization currently responsible for collecting data may not be reliable.

The oilsands controversy began several months ago when scientists and some First Nations leaders voiced concerns about a growing number of deformed fish in the Athabasca River, located downstream from the oilsands.

According to a recent story in the Calgary Herald, the Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program (RAMP) has been criticized for not releasing enough information about the deformities. According to RAMP member Dave Ealey, who’s also a spokesman for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, the number of deformities has been “relatively consistent” for more than a decade. Meanwhile, CBC News reports that University of Alberta water expert David Schindler’s studies have linked river toxins to the deformed fish.

EDMONTON — The Camp Cook pilot program recently concluded, leaving 10 Alberta-based Métis youth prepared for possible careers in the foodservice industry.

The program is designed to provide hands-on culinary training to a group of Métis youth, aged 18 to 30. The initiative, which is backed by the Alberta government, The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), the Rupertsland Institute’s Métis Training to Employment Program and The PTI Group, gives students the education needed to begin work in the foodservice industry. Interested graduates will also be offered the opportunity to pursue full-time careers with PTI, a company that provides catering services to industry customers in remote locations.

CALGARY — Operators, marketing execs, protein specialists and sales reps from retail grocery, foodservice and processing industries in Vancouver will now have the chance to benefit from a beef Centre of the Plate Training course, previously held at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ont.

The upcoming course, which will be led by Steve Olson, of the North American Meat Processors Association (NAMP) and formerly of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is based on a partnership between the Beef Information Centre and NAMP and covers beef, veal, lamb, pork and processed meats.