Press Release

Eight Student Teams Put their Cooking Skills to the Test at The ACF Student Team Northeast Regional Championship in Boston

St. Augustine, Fla., January 28, 2009—The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., will hosts its ACF Student Team Northeast Regional Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., at the 2009 ACF Northeast Regional Conference, held at the Westin Boston Waterfront, Boston, Feb 7–9.

The ACF Student Team Championship is designed to raise the standards of culinary excellence and professionalism among students, promote camaraderie and educational opportunities, and act as a staging area for research and development of culinary concepts. To compete at the regional level, teams must first win local and state competitions.

This year, student teams from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia will go head-to-head for the Northeast Regional title. The competition consists of three phases: cold-food presentation, skills salon and cooking, where teams will prepare a pre-assigned classical fish starter chosen from Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, and a salad, entrée and desert of their choice. A panel of judges will select the winning team, which will advance to the national competition held at ACF’s national convention in Orlando, Fla., in July. Here are the ACF Student Team Northeast Regional Championship candidates:

Connecticut Chefs Association
The following students from Manchester Community College, Manchester, Conn., will compete: Elizabeth Bunker, of Glastonbury, Conn.; Marc Cutler, of Avon, Conn.; Scott Fitzgerald, of Marlborough, Conn.; Joseph Mott, of Manchester, Conn.; and Patrick Sweeney, of Broad Brook, Conn. The team is coached by Linda Coons.

ACF Northern New Jersey Chapter
The following students from Hudson County Community College, Jersey City, N.J., will compete: Leif Brewer, of Bayonne, N.J.; Paul Castro, of Jersey City, N.J.; Yvonne Clemente, of Fords, N.J.; Adrienne Fudge, of Maplewood, N.J.; and Peter Haynes, of Irvington, N.J. The team is coached by Ryan Foo, CEC.

ACF of Greater Buffalo New York
The following students will compete: Kurtis Kowalczyk, of Hamburg, N.Y.; Mark Miller, of Lackawanna, N.Y.; Denise Poland, of Buffalo, N.Y.; Nia Pullinzi, of East Amherst, N.Y.; and Lindsay Wilczynski, of Buffalo, N.Y. The team is coached by Monte Dolce.

ACF Columbus Chapter
The following students from Hocking Technical College, Nelsonville, Ohio, will compete: Jose Ramon Cabatingan, of Athens, Ohio; Christina Carpenter, of Ashville, Ohio; Thomas Mulligan, of Nelsonville, Ohio; Ronald Rutherford, of Nelsonville, Ohio; and Greg Tobin, of Lancaster, Ohio. The team is coached by Thomas Landusky, CEC.

ACF Pittsburgh Chapter
The following students, all of Pittsburgh, will compete: Joseph Allison; Evan Blocker; Tristan Haseler; Christine Shipe; and Brian Sorce. The team is coached by Art Inzinga, CEC, CCE, AAC.

ACF Rhode Island Chapter
The following students from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I., will compete: Arthur Barrette, of Greenville, R.I.; Elizabeth Bova, of Brick, N.J.; Sarah Irwin, of Providence, R.I.; Katharina Krueger, of Providence, R.I.; and Khairul Muhamad, of East Providence, R.I. The team is coached by George O’Palenick, CEC, CCE, AAC.

ACF New England Culinary Institute
The following students from New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt., will compete: Jamie Hornby, of Grafton, Ohio; Blair Johnson, of Alexandria, Va.; Matan Levy, of Essex Junction, Vt.; Tarisa Reid, of Essex Junction, Vt.; and Brittany Zahorchak, of Front Royal, Va. The team is coached by Michael Gunyan, CEC, CCE.

ACF West Virginia Chapter
The following students from Pierpont Community & Technical College, Fairmont, W.Va., will compete: Sarabeth Cox, of Salem, W.Va.; Amanda Emerson, of Morgantown, W.Va.; Ted Hastings, of Morgantown, W.Va.; Kellie Smith, of Yawkey, W.Va.; and Joseph White, of Fairmont, W.Va. The team is coached by Jay Mahoney.

Hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals will attend the three-day culinary event. There will be educational seminars, culinary demos, networking and social functions, culinary competitions, meal events and more. For information, or to register to attend, visit www.acfchefs.org or call (800) 624-9458.

Sponsors of the 2009 ACF Northeast Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors include: American Lamb Board; Barber Foods; Bon Chef, Inc.; Butterball Farms, Inc.; Canada Cutlery Inc.; Cargill Salt; Chartwells; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, Inc.; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Enviro-Solutions; Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers; GFF, Inc./Girard’s Dressings; Kendall College School of Culinary Arts; Marine Farms Belize, Ltd.; Mexican Hass Avocado Importers Association; Mind’s Eye Resource Management, LLC; National Honey Board; The National Pork Board and America’s Pork Producers; Nestlé Professional; New England Coffee Company; NewChef Fashion Inc.; Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats; Pasta CHEF®; Pearson Education; RC Fine Foods; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Rougié Foie Gras; Rubbermaid Commercial Products; Sartori Food Corporation; Sid Wainer & Sons; Splenda®; Sysco Food Services; Tyson Food Service; U.S. Foodservice–Boston; Unilever Foodsolutions and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With more than 22,000 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.

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Media is invited to attend. Contact Leah Craig at (800) 624-9458, ext. 113 to register for press credentials, or email lcraig@acfchefs.net.

Contact: Leah Craig
Public Relations Specialist
(800) 624-9458, ext. 113
lcraig@acfchefs.net

• Eight Student Teams Put their Cooking Skills to the Test at The ACF Student Team Northeast Regional Championship in Boston