AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: August 11, 2016
Media Contacts: Stacy Gammill: (904) 484-0213,
[email protected]
Christopher Misiak, CEC, CCE, of Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Michigan, Named 2016 National Chef Educator of the Year by the American Culinary Federation St. Augustine, Fla., August 11, 2016—Christopher Misiak, CEC, CCE, program coordinator/instructor at Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Michigan, received the American Culinary Federation (ACF) 2016 Chef Educator of the Year Award at Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show held in Phoenix, July 15-19. “I was honored and humbled to be named ACF National Chef Educator of the Year,” said Misiak. “This award would not have been possible without the support of my ACF chef mentors, fellow chefs and the commitment of Schoolcraft College. My success is directly related to those early years in my life when my first ACF chef mentor helped me get started. All of us should continue that tradition. I now find myself mentoring a new generation of chefs, and I encourage all ACF members to do the same.” The ACF Chef Educator of the Year award, established in 1998, pays tribute to an active culinary educator whose knowledge, skills and expertise have enhanced the image of the professional chef, and who, by example, has given leadership, guidance and direction to students seeking a career in the culinary profession. This person demonstrates the ability to help students define and develop their careers by using their skills and abilities to provide a strong foundation for their future success. First, colleagues nominated chef educators for the regional award. Then, from the four ACF regional winners, a national recipient was chosen by a selection committee made up of past national winners. Misiak has spent over 30 years at the Schoolcraft College Culinary Department and in 2015, developed the four-year curriculum for the culinary arts program. His additional experience includes executive chef of catering operations, Masonic Temple, Detroit; and sous chef of catering operations, B & B Catering, South Lyon, Michigan. Misiak has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan; and an associate degree in culinary arts from Schoolcraft College. He is actively involved with the Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, serving on the task force since 2005 and as a regional and national judge since 2006. Misiak also served as coach for the Schoolcraft College Culinary Arts Knowledge Bowl team from 2003-2005. In 2009, Misiak received an ACF President’s Medallion. He is an educator representative on the evaluation team for ACFEF accreditation site visits and is part of the ACF certification evaluation team for Certified Culinary Educators. Misiak is a member of ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association. For a list of past ACF Chef Educator of the Year Award recipients, visit http://www.acfchefs.org/ACF/Events/Awards/CEOY/ACF/Events/Awards/CEOY/. -MORE-
More than 850 chefs, cooks, students and foodservice professionals attended Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show, hosted by the ACF Chef’s Association of Arizona, Inc. The event provided attendees with numerous opportunities to advance their professional development and enhance their culinary skills through informative workshops and seminars, cutting-edge demonstrations, a trade show featuring nearly 100 exhibitors, a career fair, national competitions and ACF’s annual national awards. Sponsors of Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show are: Aloutte Cheese USA; Allen Brothers; American Technical Publishers; BelGioioso Cheese, Inc.; Canadian Lentils; Custom Culinary®; Friedr. Dick Corporation; Ecolab®; The Glutamate Association; Jones Dairy Farm; J.R. Simplot Company; Lactalis Foodservice, Inc.; Libbey Foodservice; Minor’s®; National Fisheries Institute; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; OptiFog Lenses by Essilor; Par-Way Tryson Company, makers of Vegalene; Perdue Foods, LLC; Plugrá® European-Style Butter; PolyScience Culinary; RATIONAL USA; Restaurantware LLC; Taylor Shellfish Farms; Unilever Food Solutions; US Foods; Valrhona; Victorinox Swiss Army; Vitamix; and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. 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 more than 150 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 and on Twitter. ###