Kevin G. Taylor, left, and Mike Palazzola, right
ACF Culinary Youth Team USA's cold salon platter featuring Alaskan
salmon.
Kevin G. Taylor
PRESS RELEASE
ACF Culinary Youth Team USA Wins Gold in Cold-Food Competition
During First Day of Competition at “culinary Olympics” in
Germany
St. Augustine, Fla., October 20,
2008 - After nearly 24 hours of nonstop preparation,
American Culinary Federation (ACF) Culinary Youth Team USA earned a gold
medal in cold-food competition during their first day of competition at
the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) International
Culinary Art Competition, or "culinary Olympics," taking place Oct.
19–22 in Erfurt, Germany.
ACF Culinary Youth Team USA falls under the banner of ACF Culinary
Team USA. These highly skilled, young U.S. chefs are among those
representing 20 nations in what ACF Culinary Team USA Manager Edward
Leonard, CMC, AAC, has called the "largest culinary event on the global
circuit."
"They did nice, clean work," said Aidan Murphy, CMC, AAC, executive
chef at Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis, and one of the team’s
coaches. "We won one of three gold medals. The other two gold winners
and our toughest competitors were Canada and Australia."
Now, even with no sleep, the team’s spirits are better than
ever with one gold medal under their belt. When they received their
medals, it was the first time they really let out big smiles, said
Murphy from Erfurt, Germany.
Tonight, the team will get to rest for a few hours, but it is back to
practicing tomorrow as they prepare their mise en place, prepare their
shopping list, and do prep work for hot-kitchen restaurant and culinary
studio portions of the competition that take place Wednesday, Oct. 22.
In the hot-kitchen, the team will prepare 110 dishes to be served to
judges and guests. Then, just a few hours later in the culinary studio,
each team member will showcase their culinary skill as they prepare a
course using duck in 30 minutes.
"I told them they have a taste of what success feels like, and now
they have to push it to the next level," said Steve Jilleba, CMC, CCE,
AAC, corporate executive chef, Unilever Food Solutions, Lisle, Ill., and
the team’s head coach. "They have to regroup and get ready for the
rest of the competitions, because it all comes down to the day and the
team’s performance."
ACF Culinary Youth Team USA members are:
• Mike Bush, line cook, Old Warson Country Club,
St. Louis
• John Gelineau, line cook, Bellerive Country Club, St.
Louis
• Mike Palazzola, garde manger, Old Warson Country Club, St.
Louis
• Wayne Sieve, line cook, Racquet Club Ladue, St. Louis
• Kevin Taylor, cook, St. Louis Country Club, St. Louis
America’s history at IKA
The U.S. 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.
At the last IKA in 2004, where more than 1,200 participants from 40
nations competed, ACF Culinary National Team USA took home a gold medal
in hot-food cooking, and reestablished the U.S. as the leader in
international cooking.
Stay tuned for results of ACF Culinary Team USA’s competition,
Wednesday, Oct. 22. The overall champion of the “culinary
Olympics” will be announced Thursday, Oct. 23. Find out how
American cuisine fares against the world.
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, The Beef Checkoff , 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.
# # #
HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. TO SCHEDULE AN
INTERVIEW WITH ONE OF THE TEAMS WHEN THEY RETURN FROM GERMANY, 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
