AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: August 23, 2016
Media Contacts: Stacy Gammill: (904) 484-0213,
[email protected]
ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon Team from Oregon Coast Culinary Institute Wins 2016 American Culinary Federation Student Team National Championship St. Augustine, Fla., August 23, 2016— A team from ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon, Oregon Coast Culinary Institute (OCCI), Coos Bay, Oregon, proved they had the teamwork and four-course menu to win the 2016 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Student Team National Championship, sponsored by Vitamix, at Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show held in Phoenix, July 15-19. The ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon team, students at OCCI, competed against four other teams for the title. “I couldn't be more pleased with the team’s performance, not just because they won but in the way they worked together,” said Torres. “Our hats are off to all of the other teams that competed at the convention, as their high caliber of work brought out the best in us. Oregon Coast Culinary Institute thanks the American Culinary Federation and Vitamix for sponsoring such a great event.” At the national competition, five teams—one finalist team from each ACF region and one military team—prepared a four-course signature menu. A panel of ACFapproved judges selected the winning team. The winning menu was as follows: Starter Course Curry and crab-crusted halibut with a creamy seafood fritter, bacon-mushroom ragoût, pea pudding and shellfish sauce Salad Course Young greens with lemon grass vinaigrette, pickled radishes, compressed cantaloupe, marinated cucumber, cilantro pesto, kaffir ricotta, pink peppercorn and grapefruit sorbet Main Course Roasted game hen roulade, herb crepe filled with thigh meat and potato, creamed corn, grilled asparagus and tomatoes, foie gras toast, peach jam and tangy reduction of natural juices Dessert Course Dark chocolate cremeux with a rich butter cake, crispy pistachio ice cream, warm chocolate beignet and a selection of strawberries -MORE-
The ACF Student Team Championship, established in 1992, is designed to raise the standards of culinary excellence and professionalism among students, promote camaraderie and educational opportunities, and act as a staging area for research and development of culinary concepts. Each of the four teams first compete to win state and regional competitions. At the regional awards ceremonies, each team received up to $1,500 from the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), ACF’s honor society, to assist them with expenses to travel to Phoenix. 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. ###