American Culinary Federation Press Release For Immediate Release: March 17, 2016

Media Contacts: Sarah Roy: (904) 484-0226, [email protected] Jennifer Manley: (904) 484-0247, [email protected]

Northeast and Southeast Chefs, Foodservice Professionals and Culinary Students Honored at American Culinary Federation Conference Award winners from Northeast and Southeast regions announced at ChefConnect: Atlanta March 13-15. March 17, 2016, St. Augustine, Florida— Chefs, students and foodservice professionals from the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) Northeast and Southeast regions gathered for professional development and culinary trend seminars at ChefConnect: Atlanta. The conference took place at Hyatt Regency Atlanta, March 13-15. Conference topics included food pairings, beef trends, Southern cooking, French pastry techniques and molecular gastronomy. Attendees enjoyed hands-on workshops, culinary demonstrations and networking opportunities. Presenters included Hugh Acheson, James Beard award-winning chef, local food advocate, author and judge on Bravo's Top Chef; Linton Hopkins, James Beard award-winning chef and local restauranteur; and Patrice Caillot, pastry chef instructor, The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago. For a full list of presenters, visit www.acfchefs.org/EventSeries. Regional awards were presented to Northeast and Southeast region chefs and students during the conference. The following ACF award winners have the opportunity to earn their respective national titles at Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show, Phoenix, July 15-19. ACF Northeast Region Chef Educator of the Year Gerard Prevost, CEC, CCE, chef instructor, St. Johnsbury Academy, St. Johnsbury, Vermont; White Mountain Chapter of the ACF ACF Southeast Region Chef Educator of the Year Kathleen Vossenberg, CCC, CCE, lead chef instructor, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Orlando, Florida; ACF Central Florida Chapter ACF Northeast Region Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award James Taylor, CEC, AAC, MBA, professor, Columbus State Community College, Columbus, Ohio; ACF Columbus Chapter ACF Southeast Region Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award Howard Cooper, Ph.D., retired, Decatur, Georgia; ACF Atlanta Chefs Association, Inc. ACF Northeast Region Dr. L.J. Minor Chef Professionalism Award, sponsored by Minor’s® Timothy Recher, CEC, executive chef/assistant general manager, Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, Virginia; ACF Nation’s Capital Chefs Association ACF Southeast Region Dr. L.J. Minor Chef Professionalism Award, sponsored by Minor’s® Dominick Laudia, CEC, AAC, executive chef, Boca Grove Golf and Tennis Club, Boca Raton, Florida; ACF Palm Beach County Chefs Association

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ACF Northeast Region Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by American Technical Publishers Students representing ACF Eastern Long Island Chefs Chapter, Riverhead, New York ACF Southeast Region Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by American Technical Publishers Students representing ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter; La Vergne, Tennessee ACF Northeast Region Chef of the Year, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions Gary Davis Jr., executive chef, Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, Cincinnati; ACF Greater Cincinnati Chapter ACF Southeast Region Chef of the Year, sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions Ted Polfelt, CEC, CCA, executive chef, Jefferson Street Management Group, Roanoke, Virginia; ACF Southwestern Virginia Chapter ACF Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Plugrá® European-Style Butter Cher Harris, CEPC, executive pastry chef at The Hotel Hershey, Hershey, Pennsylvania; ACF Harrisburg Chapter ACF Southeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Plugrá® European-Style Butter Kelly Bellmore, CEPC, executive pastry chef, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina; ACF North Carolina Chapter ACF Northeast Region Student Chef of the Year, sponsored by Custom Culinary® Denise Aguayo, student/lab assistant, The Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College, New Rochelle, New York; ACF Long Island Chapter ACF Southeast Region Student Chef of the Year, sponsored by Custom Culinary® Ruth Solis, garde manger cook, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta; ACF Atlanta Chefs Association, Inc. ACF Northeast Region Student Team Regional Championship, sponsored by Vitamix Students representing ACF Long Island Chapter that attend The Culinary Institute of New York at Monroe College, New Rochelle, New York ACF Southeast Region Student Team Regional Championship, sponsored by Vitamix Students representing ACF North Carolina Chapter that attend Alamance Community College, Graham, North Carolina ChefConnect: Atlanta award recipients in ACF’s Northeast and Southeast regions listed below were recognized for their outstanding contributions to ACF, goodwill in their communities and/or culinary excellence. ACF Northeast Region Chapter of the Year ACF Nation’s Capital Chefs Association; Washington, D.C. ACF Southeast Region Chapter of the Year ACF Central Florida Chapter; Orlando, Florida ACF Northeast Region Chapter Achievement Awards ACF Nation’s Capital Chefs Association; Washington, D.C. ACF Epicurean Club of Boston; Boston ACF Columbus Chapter; Columbus, Ohio ACF Harrisburg Chapter; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ACF Southeast Region Chapter Achievement Awards ACF Central Florida Chapter; Orlando, Florida ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Inc.; Tampa, Florida ACF Atlanta Chefs Association, Inc.; Atlanta ACF Southwestern Virginia Chapter; Roanoke, Virginia ACF World of Thanks ACF Atlanta Chefs Association, Inc.; Atlanta

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ACF Northeast Region President’s Medallions Douglas Patten, CEC, CCA, AAC, corporate executive chef, FLIK Hospitality Group, Rye Brook, New York; ACF Epicurean Club of Boston Jason Knapp, CEC, chef instructor, Hocking College, Nelsonville, Ohio; ACF Columbus Chapter ACF Southeast Region President’s Medallions Clyde Christmas, CEC, AAC, executive chef, Bermuda Run Country Club, Bermuda Run, North Carolina; ACF North Carolina Chapter Rocco Paradiso, corporate chef, US Foods, Fort Mill, South Carolina; Chefs & Culinary Professionals of Chicagoland Joseph Randall, chef/owner, Chef Joe Randall’s Cooking School, Savannah, Georgia; ACF Savannah Chefs Association ACF Northeast Region Cutting Edge Awards, sponsored by Friedr. Dick Corp. Lawrence Alexander Jr., CCC, executive chef, Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, Wheeling, West Virginia; Chefs & Culinary Professionals of Chicagoland Shawn Culp, CEC, MBA, culinary arts department chair, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; ACF Pittsburgh Chapter ACF Southeast Region Cutting Edge Awards, sponsored by Friedr. Dick Corp. John Bell, CEC, executive chef, Leesburg High School, Leesburg, Florida; ACF Gulf to Lake Chefs & Cooks Association, Inc. Timothy Recher, CEC, executive chef/assistant general manager, Army Navy Country Club, Arlington, Virginia; ACF Nation’s Capital Chefs Association ACF Southeast Region Achievement of Excellence Awards Army Navy Country Club; Arlington, Virginia Café Calderón; San Juan, Puerto Rico More than 450 chefs, students and foodservice professionals attended ChefConnect: Atlanta. The conference was part of ACF’s Signature Series, which provides educational and networking opportunities for culinary industry professionals and students. Learn more about the conference at www.acfchefs.org/EventSeries, on Twitter @ACFChefs, #ChefConnect or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ACFChefs. Sponsors of ChefConnect: Atlanta were: Custom Culinary®; Minor’s®; Unilever Food Solutions; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc; Plugrá® European-Style Butter; Vitamix; Ecolab; Allen Brothers; Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board; Atlantic Veal & Lamb; American Technical Publishers; Par-Way Tryson Company; The Beef Checkoff; Irinox USA; Jones Dairy Farm; Sysco Atlanta; National Turkey Federation; US Foods; Alouette Cheese USA; Performance Foodservice; S&D Coffee & Tea; Friedr. Dick Corp. and Valrhona. About the American Culinary Federation The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), established in 1929, is the standard of excellence for chefs in North America. With more than 17,500 members spanning nearly 200 chapters nationwide, ACF is the leading culinary association offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and programmatic accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the most comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States, with the Certified Executive Chef®, Certified Sous Chef®, Certified Executive Pastry Chef® and Certified Culinary Educator® designations accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. 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. Find ACF on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ACFChefs and on Twitter @ACFChefs. ###