Press Release

One Chef and Two Chapters Receive American Culinary Federation Cutting Edge Awards at 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference

St. Augustine, Fla., April 27, 2010—One chef and two chapters were awarded the American Culinary Federation, Inc., (ACF) Cutting Edge Award at the 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference held at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham, Ala., April 24–26.

The Cutting Edge Award recognizes industry leaders, ACF chapters and supporting agencies to the culinary profession for their leadership and service to the culinary profession. Anyone can nominate a candidate for this award by contacting the ACF Board of Directors. Three to five awards are presented at each ACF regional conference. Here are the 2010 Southeast region recipients:

• Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Robert Sparks, CEPC, of Colonial Heights, Va., food advisor, U.S. Army, Fort Lee, Va.; Old Dominion ACF Chapter
• ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc., Atlanta
• ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc., Tampa, Fla.

The 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference, hosted by ACF Birmingham Alabama Chapter, brought hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals to Birmingham. 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 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; 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 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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To arrange an interview, contact Patricia Carroll or Leah Craig.

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

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

• One Chef and Two Chapters Receive American Culinary Federation Cutting Edge Awards at 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference