Press Release

Eight Student Teams Put Their Cooking Skills to the Test at the ACF Student Team Western Region Championship in New Mexico Next Month

St. Augustine, Fla., January 7, 2010—The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., will host the ACF Student Team Western Region Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., Feb. 6, at the 2010 ACF Western Regional Conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque, Albuquerque, N.M. Eight student teams from eight states will compete.

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.

The regional 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 dessert of their choice. A panel of judges will select the winning team, which will be announced at the Celebrating Regional Excellence Awards Gala, Monday, Feb. 8. The winning team will represent the Western region in the national competition in Anaheim, Calif., in August. Here are the 2010 ACF Student Team Western Region Championship candidates:

Arizona

Representing ACF Chefs of Arizona, Inc., students from The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Phoenix will compete. Francine Marz, CEC, is the team’s coach.

California

Representing Santa Clara Valley Chefs, students from Professional Culinary Institute, Campbell, Calif., will compete. Randy Torres, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Colorado

Representing ACF Colorado Chefs Association, students from Mesa State College, Grand Junction, Colo., will compete. Jonathan St. Peter, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Hawaii

Representing Chefs de Cuisine Association of Hawaii, students from Kapi’olani Community College, Honolulu, will compete. Alan Tsuchiyama is the team’s coach. (Last year, a team of students from Kapi’olani Community College representing Chefs de Cuisine Association of Hawaii won the national competition.)

Nevada

Representing ACF Chefs Las Vegas, students from College of Southern Nevada, North Las Vegas, Nev., will compete. John Metcalfe is the team’s coach.

Oregon

Representing ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon, students from Oregon Culinary Institute, Portland, Ore., will compete. Tina Powers, CEPC, CCE, is the team’s coach.

Utah

Representing ACF Beehive Chefs Chapter, Inc., students from Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, will compete. Peter Sproul, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Washington

Representing ACF Washington State Chefs Association, students from Renton Technical College, Renton, Wash., will compete. John Fisher, CEC, CCE, AAC, is the team’s coach.

Hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals will attend the three-day culinary event in New Mexico. 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 2010 ACF Western Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors are: American Technical Publishers; Avocados from Mexico; Barry Callebaut; Boyd Coffee Company; California Rice Commission; Canada Cutlery Inc.; The Colorado Potato Administrative Committee; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Diamond Crystal Salt; Fisher-Nickel Inc.; i-COOK; King & Prince Seafood; Koch Foods, Inc.; MARS Food Services; Nestlé Professional; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Riviana Foods Inc.; Splenda®; Sysco New Mexico, LLC; TexaSweet Citrus Marketing, Inc.; The Sterno Group; Tyson Food Service; Unilever Foodsolutions; Vitamix Corp.; 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, and to the Chef & Child Foundation, founded in 1989 to promote proper nutrition in children and to combat childhood obesity. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.

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To arrange interviews, for a high-res photo or for press credentials to attend, contact Patricia Carroll or Leah Craig.

Contact: Patricia Carroll
(904) 484-0247
pcarroll@acfchefs.net

Leah Craig
(904) 484-0213
lcraig@acfchefs.net

• Eight Student Teams Put their Cooking Skills to the Test at the ACF Student Team Western Region Championship in New Mexico Next Month