Press Release
American Chefs Go For the Gold in "culinary Olympics"
Six ACF Chefs Defend Their World Title
Against 50 International Teams
St. Augustine, Fla., August 18, 2008 - As
U.S. Olympic athletes compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, a team
of six chefs are training for a culinary competition of international
proportions. American Culinary Federation (ACF) Culinary National Team
USA will travel to Erfurt, Germany, to represent America against teams
from more than 50 nations in the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung
(IKA) International Culinary Art Competition, known around the world as
the "culinary Olympics," October 19-22.
Much like the Olympics, the IKA "culinary Olympics" is considered the
most prestigious competition in the industry. For four days, the world's
best chefs are challenged to prove their culinary skills and vie for
gold medals. ACF Culinary Team USA is expected to bring home gold, as
they defend their title of World Champions in hot-food cooking.
Who: Six of the nation's best professional
chefs, including three certified master chefs, of which there are only
61 in the nation. Chefs are from New York, Ohio, Maryland, Georgia,
Nevada and Rhode Island.
What: The "culinary Olympics" is held every
four years in Germany and dates back to 1900.
When: October 19-22, 2008
Where: Erfurt, Germany
Why: The team will represent American cuisine
and defend its 2004 title of World Champions in hot-food cooking.
Visuals: Join ACF Culinary National Team USA
for one of their final practices, held at Westchester Country Club in
Rye, N.Y., as the team prepares their recipes. Or, have the team live in
your studio performing a dynamic cooking demonstration with a mystery
basket-you choose the ingredients, ACF chefs prepare a gold-medal
winning dish.
ACF Culinary National Team USA members
- Edward Leonard, CMC, American Academy of Chefs (AAC), ACF Culinary
Team USA manager and executive chef, Westchester Country Club, Rye,
N.Y.
- Richard Rosendale, certified executive chef (CEC), ACF Culinary
National Team USA captain and executive chef/owner, Rosendales,
Columbus, Ohio
- Joachim Buchner, CMC, executive chef, Chevy Chase Club, Chevy Chase,
Md.
- Jamie Keating, chef/owner, The RiverMill Event Center, Columbus,
Ga.
- Melissa K. Root, pastry chef, Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro in
Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas
- Daniel Scannell, CMC, executive chef, Carnegie Abbey Club,
Portsmouth, R.I.
U.S. Team's History at IKA
The team's history at IKA is long and distinguished. When Americans
began competing as an official team in 1956, they were clearly the
underdogs. However, American cookery soon established itself as
world-class cuisine. The 1960 team captured the first world championship
honor for the United States, and ACF Culinary Team USA repeated the
distinction in 1980, 1984 and 1988 by taking the prestigious hot-food
competition all three times and establishing a new world record for the
most consecutive gold-medal wins. The team's most recent IKA win came in
2004, when the team took home the gold medal in hot-food cooking,
reestablishing ACF Culinary National Team USA as the leader in
international cooking.
About ACF Culinary Team USA
ACF Culinary Team USA is the official representative team of the United
States in major national and international culinary competitions. It
comprises one national team of six members, two regional teams with five
members each, and a youth team of five members less than 23 years old.
Sponsors of ACF Culinary Team USA are Kraft Foodservice, Tyson Food
Service, Uncle Ben's, Unilever, Club Managers Association of America,
KitchenAid, Chef Revival, Fortessa, Friedr. Dick, Westchester Country
Club and Blodgett. Visit www.acfchefs.org to learn more
about the team.
About the American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the
premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With
more than 21,500 members spanning 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the
culinary leader in offering educational resources, training,
apprenticeship and accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the most
comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States. ACF
is home to ACF Culinary Team USA, the official representative for the
United States in major international culinary competitions. For more
information, visit www.acfchefs.org.
# # #
ACF Culinary National Team USA is available for print interviews,
on-air interviews and cooking demonstrations. To arrange interviews
and/or receive photos of team members please contact ACF.
Contact: Patricia Carroll
Communications Director
(800) 624-9458, ext. 147
pcarroll@acfchefs.net
Leah Spellman
Public Relations Specialist
(800) 624-9458, ext. 113
lspellman@acfchefs.net
