Press Release

Pennsylvania Culinary Students Named ACF Northeast Region Knowledge Bowl Champions

St. Augustine, Fla., March 16, 2010—The smartest culinary students in the region are from Westmoreland County Community College, Youngwood, Pa., according to the American Culinary Federation (ACF), a national organization of professional chefs. The team took home a gold medal and won the Northeast Region Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by American Technical Publishers, which took place at the 2010 ACF Northeast Regional Conference at Hershey Lodge, Hershey, Pa., March 13–15.

The team comprises the following student culinarians, all members of ACF Laurel Highlands Chapter: Carol Baier, of Irwin, Pa.; Ellen Cervone, of Belle Vernon, Pa.; Rebecca Hawk, of Youngwood; Allison Yeagley, of Connellsville, Pa.; and Dianne Palmieri, of Greensburg, Pa. The team is coached by Cindy Komarinski, CCC, CCE.

The following teams also earned medals in the regional competition:

• Gold: Students representing Schenectady County Community College, Schenectady, N.Y., who are members of ACF Capital District–Central New York: Joan Dembinski, of Albany, N.Y.; Alisa Harris, of Scotia, N.Y.; Sharon Lemme-Masciocco, of Schenectady; Samuel Reichler, of Delmar, N.Y.; and Gregg Zito, of Ancram, N.Y. The team is coached by Robert Payne.
• Silver: Students representing ACF New England Culinary Institute, who are students at New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt.: Jeffrey Bickford, of Montpelier; A. Fritz Gibson, of Montpelier; Irene Lim, of Saco, Maine; Matthew Lucas, of Montpelier; and Kimberly Martines, of Montpelier. The team is coached by Mark Molinaro, CEC.
• Silver: Students representing Le Cordon Bleu North America in Pittsburgh, who are members of ACF Pittsburgh Chapter: Courtney Bail, of Pittsburgh; Danielle Childs, of New Freedom, Pa.; Candy Porter, of Pittsburgh; Ryan Rankin, of Bellevue, Ohio; and Alexis Ross, of Beaver Falls, Pa. The team is coached by Maureen Costello-Garfolo, CEC, CCE.

ACF knowledge bowls are open to junior culinary teams from ACF chapters, apprenticeship programs and accredited schools. Competition questions are drawn from five nationally published textbooks for culinary professionals that cover topics such as nutrition, safety and sanitation and the art of modern cooking. The tournament is formatted using a “Jeopardy”-style, five-by-four matrix board for games leading to the final round, and a five-by-five matrix board for the final round.

Ten student teams from Maine, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont went head-to-head for the Northeast Region title. As Northeast Region champions, the Westmoreland County Community College team will compete for the national title against three other winning regional teams at the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 2–5. The highest scorer will be named the ACF Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl winner for 2010.

The Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl is named in honor of past ACF National President Baron H. Galand, CEC, AAC, HOF, who championed junior members and encouraged them to get involved in their profession outside the kitchen. The 2010 ACF Northeast Regional Conference, hosted by ACF Harrisburg Chapter, brought hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals to Hershey. The conference provided attendees with opportunities to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through business seminars, cooking demonstrations featuring the latest trends and techniques, cooking competitions and awards.

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; King & Prince Seafood; Koch Foods, Inc.; MARS Food Services; MenuMax; MINOR’S®; Nespresso; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; NRA Conserve; RC Fine Foods; Riviana Foods Inc.; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; S&D Coffee; Splenda®; The Sterno Group; Sysco; Tyson Food Service; Unilever Foodsolutions; U.S. Foodservice; 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 or for a high-res photo, contact Patricia Carroll or Leah Craig.

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

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

• Pennsylvania Culinary Students Named ACF Northeast Region Knowledge Bowl Champions