AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION FOUNDATION
PRESS RELEASE

Award Winners Announced at 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference
More than 300 Chefs and Cooks Attended ACF's Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., April May 2, 2007 -The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., the largest association of professional culinarians in North America, honored its members and chapters at the 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference held at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, April 29-May 1, in the spectacular city of Nashville, Tenn.

The 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference award recipients listed below will compete for the national title against their winning regional counterparts at the 2007 ACF National Convention in Orlando, July 21-24.

U.S.A.'s Chef of the Year™ sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions
J. Kevin Walker, CMC; executive chef, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta, Ga.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.

ACF Pastry Chef of the Year sponsored by Splenda®
Natasha Capper, CEPC; executive pastry chef, Piedmont Driving Club, Atlanta, Ga.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.

ACF Chef Educator of the Year
Bruce Ozga, CEC, CCE; dean of culinary education, Johnson & Wales University, North Miami, Fla.; ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club

ACF Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award
Louis Perrotte, CEC, AAC; chef/owner, Le Coq Au Vin, Orlando, Fla.; ACF Central Florida Chapter

ACF Chef Professionalism Award sponsored by Nestlé FoodServices
James Thomas, CEC; executive chef, The Ocean Forest Golf Club, Sea Island, Ga.; ACF Golden Isles of Georgia Chapter

ACF Student Culinarian of the Year sponsored by Custom Culinary, Inc.
Wing Lau; student, The Art Institute of Atlanta, Atlanta; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.

Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl
Guilford Technical Community College; Stephanie Falish; Angela Kelch; Sonia Haga, captain; Tyler Rodgers; Tim Smith; Donald C. McMillan, CEC, AAC, coach; Tina Wilcox, co-coach

ACF Student Team Regional Championship sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc.
North Carolina; ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College; Jason Huang, Michelle Bailey, Daniel Gorman, Chambli Stuber, Matthew Gruber; Bronwen McCormick, coach

The 2007 ACF Southeast Regional Conference award recipients listed below were recognized for their outstanding abilities, contributions and goodwill.

ACF Chef & Child Little Oscar Award
ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association

ACF President's Medallions
Michael Bologna, CEC, CCE, AAC; educator, Chattahoochee Technical College, Marietta, Ga.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter
Gary Rawson; executive chef, Vanderbilt University, Nashville; ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter
Dr. George Pastor, Ed.D., CEC, CCE, AAC; retired; ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Inc.
John Ferrell; sales, Buckhead BeefTM, a division of SYSCO Corporation, Atlanta, Ga.
Karl Prohaska, executive chef, Sheraton Music City Hotel, Nashville, Tenn.; ACF National Chapter

Hosted by the ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter and chosen for its historical, recreational and social attractions, Nashville was the location of the ACF Southeast Regional Conference, bringing an estimated 300 chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals to the city. The conference provided 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 offered participants the opportunity to learn about the latest cooking trends and techniques

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; The Soyfoods Council in Partnership with QUALISOY™; 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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