Press Release

Eight Student Teams Put Their Cooking Skills to the Test at the ACF Student Team Southeast Region Championship in Birmingham in April

St. Augustine, Fla., March 31, 2010—The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., will host the ACF Student Team Southeast Region Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., during the 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference, held at Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham, Ala., April 24–26. Eight student teams from the Bahamas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia 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, April 26. The winning team will represent the Southeast region in the national competition in Anaheim, Calif., in August. Here are the 2010 ACF Student Team Southeast Region Championship candidates:

Bahamas

Representing the Bahamas Culinary Association, students from the College of the Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas, will compete. Mario Adderley is the team’s coach.

Florida

Representing ACF Central Florida Chapter, students from Valencia Community College, Orlando, Fla., will compete. Kenneth Bourgoin, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Georgia

Representing ACF Golden Isles of Georgia Chapter, students at Coastal Georgia Community College, Brunswick, Ga., will compete. Matt Moore is the team’s coach.

Kentucky

Representing ACF Kentucky Chapter, students from Sullivan University, Louisville, Ky., will compete. Derek Spendlove, CEPC, CCE, AAC, is the team’s coach.

North Carolina

Representing ACF Inc. Charlotte Chapter, students from Johnson & Wales University, Charlotte, N.C., will compete. Steven Malcolm, CEC, CCE, is the team’s coach.

South Carolina

Representing ACF Chefs of the Low Country, students from Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Ga., will compete. Jean Vendeville, CEPC, is the team’s coach.

Tennessee

Representing ACF Greater Smokey Mountain Chapter, students from Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tenn., will compete. Catherine Hallman, CEPC, is the team’s coach.

Virginia

Students representing Old Dominion ACF Chapter, Fort Lee, Va., will compete. Mayra Hernandez is the team’s coach.

Hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals will attend the three-day culinary event in Birmingham. 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 Southeast Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors are: Alabama Cattlemen’s Association; American Technical Publishers; Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Canada Cutlery Inc.; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Inc.; The Colorado Potato Administrative Committee; Custom Culinary, Inc.; King & Prince Seafood; Koch Foods, Inc.; MARS Food Services; MenuMax; MINOR’S®; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; NRA Conserve; Produce Marketing Association; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Riviana Foods Inc.; S&D Coffee; Splenda®; SYSCO Birmingham; The Sterno Group; Tyson Food Service; U.S. Foodservice; 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 20,000 members spanning 225 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and programmatic 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 Southeast Region Championship in Birmingham in April