AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION FOUNDATION
PRESS RELEASE

Chefs Hold ACF Southeast Regional Conference in Nashville, Tenn.
More than 300 Chefs and Cooks are Expected at ACF's Conference

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., April 13, 2007 - The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., the largest association of professional culinarians in North America, will hold its annual 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, April 29-May 1, in the spectacular city of Nashville, Tenn.

Hosted by the ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter and chosen for its historical, recreational and social attractions, Nashville is the location of the ACF Southeast Regional Conference, bringing an estimated 300 chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals to the city. The conference provides attendees with numerous opportunities to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative business seminars, forums, clinics and cutting-edge demonstrations. The conference also offers participants the opportunity to learn about the latest cooking trends and techniques. In addition, the conference features Tennessee Flavors Food Show where foodservice exhibitors showcase their latest culinary products and culinary competitions take place.

The ACF Professional Development Program, comprised of the Educator Development Series and the Career Development Series, is an educational opportunity available to attending chefs, cooks and industry representatives. The Educator Development Series, sponsored by Canada Cutlery, Inc., entitled "Exploring Good Practices in Outcomes-Based Assessment" describes "good practices" in outcomes-based assessment program review demonstrating how improvements in student learning and development are made based on a systematic institutional evaluation process. The Career Development Series focuses on the areas of culinary nutrition, food safety and sanitation, culinary supervisory and business management, and lifestyle enrichment. This series of seminars, lectures and workshops includes refresher courses needed to maintain ACF certification points to improve chefs and cooks overall knowledge and skill base, and personal and professional growth.

Other highlights of the conference are:

• Removing Trans Fats from Today's Menu Without Sacrificing Quality or Flavor, sponsored by Nestlé FoodServices
• Cheese Course: Trends and Examples, sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.
• Food Safety in the News: Outbreak Prevention
• Catfish: From the Infamous Fried Catfish to White Table Cloth Service, sponsored by Harvest Select Catfish
• Beef University: From the Pasture to the Plate
• Culinary Nutrition: News & Nutrition for Chefs
• Cajun Cuisine- Beyond Cayenne Pepper & Hot Sauce
• Specialty Ice Carvings
• Songwriters' Night at Wildhorse Saloon -- a fundraising gala featuring the sights, sounds and flavors of Nashville to benefit the Nashville Metropolitan Schools and their efforts to further childhood nutritional education

Conference attendees also have the opportunity to witness culinary competitions featuring the region's best chefs competing for the prestigious titles of ACF Southeast Region chefs of the year, as well as other awards. In addition, a Student Team Regional Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., will take place at Nashville Tech and features teams from across the region competing in a hot food competition and cold food salon for the chance to become the regions' champion. All winners will advance to the national championship at the 2007 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Fla., in July.

Registration is available onsite. Visit www.acfchefs.org to learn more about the ACF Southeast Regional Conference.

Sponsors of the 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference include: Anova Food, Inc.; Butterball Farms, Inc.; Canada Cutlery Inc.; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, Inc.; Contessa Premium Foods, Inc.; GFF, Inc./Girard's Dressings; SYSCO Food Services, Inc.; UNCLE BEN'S INFUSED Rice; US Foodservice; The Vollrath Co., LLC.; and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. National partners include: Custom Culinary, Inc.; Nestlé FoodServices; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Splenda®; Tyson Foods, Inc.; and Unilever Foodsolutions. Demo/seminar sponsors include: Ajinomoto Food Ingredients; Basic American Foods; Harvest Select Catfish; Mind's Eye Resource Management, LLC; Nestlé FoodServices; and Thomson Delmar Learning. Chef Designs is the ACF event merchandise preferred provider.

The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in America. With more than 19,000 members spanning 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the only 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 also holds the presidium for the World Association of Chefs Societies, the largest international network of chef associations with more than 8 million members globally. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.

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MEDIA IS INVITED TO ATTEND. CALL PATRICIA CARROLL AT (800) 624-9458 EXTENSION 147 TO REGISTER FOR COMPLIMENTARY DAY PASSES.