Press Release

Eight Student Teams Put Their Cooking Skills to the Test at the ACF Student Team Northeast Region Championship in Pennsylvania Next Month

St. Augustine, Fla., February 19, 2010—The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., will host the ACF Student Team Northeast Region Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., March 13–14, at the 2010 ACF Northeast Regional Conference, held at Hershey Lodge, Hershey, Pa., March 13–15. 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, March 15. The winning team will represent the Northeast region in the national competition in Anaheim, Calif., in August. Here are the 2010 ACF Student Team Northeast Region Championship candidates:

Connecticut

Representing Connecticut Chefs Association, students from Manchester Community College, Manchester, Conn., will compete. Linda Coons is the team’s coach.

New Hampshire

Representing ACF Professional Chefs of New Hampshire, students from Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, N.H., will compete. Stefan Ryll, CEC, is the team’s coach.

New Jersey

Representing ACF Northern New Jersey Chapter, students from Hudson Country Community College, Jersey City, N.J., will compete. Rickford Foo, CEC, is the team’s coach.

New York

Representing ACF Chefs & Cooks of the Catskill Mountains, students from State University of New York at Delhi, Delhi, N.Y., will compete. Victor Sommo, CSC, is the team’s coach.

Ohio

Representing ACF Columbus Chapter, students from Hocking College, Columbus, Ohio, will compete. Thomas Landusky, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Pennsylvania

Representing ACF Pittsburgh Chapter, students from Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Pittsburgh, will compete. Arthur Inzinga, CEC, CCE, AAC, is the team’s coach.

Vermont

Representing ACF New England Culinary Institute, students from New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt., will compete. Michael Gunyan, CEC, CCE, is the team’s coach.

West Virginia

Representing ACF West Virginia Chapter, students from Pierpont Culinary Academy, Fairmont, W.Va., will compete. Jay Mahoney is the team’s coach.

Hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals will attend the three-day culinary event in Hershey. 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 Northeast Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors are: American Technical Publishers; Barilla America, Inc.; Barry Callebaut; The Beef Checkoff & The Pennsylvania Beef Council; Beef Information Center; Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Canada Cutlery Inc.; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Inc.; Christopher Ranch; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Desserts International; Heinz North America; MenuMax; King & Prince Seafood; Koch Foods, Inc.; MARS Food Services; MINOR’S®; Nespresso; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; RC Fine Foods; Riviana Foods Inc.; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; S&D Coffee; Splenda®; The Sterno Group; Sysco Foodservice; Tyson Food Service; Unilever Foodsolutions; Vitamix Corp.; and the 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 Northeast Region Championship in Pennsylvania Next Month