AMERICAN CULINARY FEDERATION PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: February 24, 2016

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

Pastry Chefs to Battle for Title of ACF Central Region Pastry Chef of the Year Four pastry chefs will compete for regional award at Culinary Institute of St. Louis March 12. February 24, 2016, St. Augustine, Florida—Four pastry chefs will whip up excitement at Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College, St. Louis, as they compete for the title of 2016 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Central Region Pastry Chef of the Year. The competition will take place March 12 during the 2016 ACF Central Regional Culinary Salon, March 11-13. The four chefs are competing for the opportunity to represent the ACF Central region in the national competition at Cook. Craft. Create. Convention & Show, Phoenix, July 15-19. The regional winner receives bragging rights, travel expenses and a complimentary registration to the national competition. The national winner receives $5,000 and the title of ACF Pastry Chef of the Year. At the regional competition, competitors will prepare four portions of a dessert that incorporates milk chocolate, banana and a tropical fruit, as well as a cake component for judges in 1 hour, 40 minutes. The ACF Pastry Chef of the Year award, sponsored by Plugrá® European-Style Butter, recognizes a pastry chef who displays a passion for the craft, has an accomplished reputation in the pastry field and has helped educate others by sharing skills and knowledge. ACF Regional Culinary Salon Competitions are a part of ACF’s Signature Series, which provides educational and networking opportunities through ChefConnect events and competitions for culinary industry professionals and students. ACF believes that culinary competitions play a vital role in the development of the culinary craft by testing chefs’ and students’ knowledge and skills in a competitive format. To learn more about ACF competitions, eligibility and rules, visit www.acfchefs.org/competitions. Jan Lewandowski, CEPC, of Little Rock, Arkansas, is lead baking instructor at Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, Little Rock, where she developed the classes and achieved ACF accreditation for the Baking and Pastry Arts Program. She is also co-owner of Blue Cake Company, Little Rock. Her experience includes pastry chef, Capital Hotel, Little Rock; and assistant pastry chef, Peabody Hotel, Little Rock. Lewandowski has an associate degree in culinary arts from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Scottsdale (formerly, Scottsdale Culinary Institute), Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2013, she won Best Plated Dessert at Arkansas Hospitality Association (AHA)’s Culinary Classic, Little Rock. She is currently serving as the Arkansas State Representative for the International Cake Exploration Societé (ICES); coorganizer of the Rock City Sugar Art Show, Little Rock; and co-adviser for SkillsUSA commercial baking students. Lewandowski is a member of ACF Central Arkansas Cooks Association and was named chapter Pastry Chef of the Year in 2015. -more-

Kathryn Ratzlaff, CPC, of Lawrence, Kansas, is pastry chef at Ibis Bakery, Lenexa, Kansas. Her experience includes executive pastry chef, Affäre, Kansas City, Missouri; pastry cook, Lidia’s Restaurant, Kansas City; and sous pastry cook, WheatFields Bakery Café, Lawrence. Ratzlaff is pursuing an associate degree in food and beverage management at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), Overland Park, Kansas, and will graduate in fall 2016. She was a member of the ACF Greater Kansas City Chefs Association student team that won the 2014 ACF Student Team National Championship, Kansas City. In 2015, she received two silver medals at ACF-sanctioned competitions and a bronze medal, as well as placed second overall in the individual pastry arts division, at American Culinary Classic, Orlando, Florida. For the 2014-15 school year, Ratzlaff served as the JCCC culinary team captain, pastry member and pastry director’s assistant. She is a member of ACF Greater Kansas City Chefs Association. Michele Brown, of Wylie, Texas, is executive pastry chef at Brook Hollow Golf Club, Dallas. Her experience includes pastry arts professor, Collin College, Frisco, Texas, where she created and implemented the pastry arts associate degree program; and owner/executive pastry chef, Michele Brown Baking, LTD, Sea Cliff, New York. Brown graduated from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island, with a bachelor’s degree in food service management and associate degree in pastry arts. An avid team competitor, she was pastry chef for two gold medal winners at the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2014, Luxembourg; and a bronze medal winner at the 2012 IKA International Culinary Exhibition, also known as the “culinary Olympics,” Erfurt, Germany. In 2015, Brown served as a board member of Les Dames d’Escoffier of Dallas, Inc. She is past secretary and board member of Texas Chefs Association, Dallas Chapter, and was named chapter Pastry Chef of the Year in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Jennifer Miller, CPC, of Merrillville, Indiana, is third cook/pastry lead at Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Ivy Tech Community College, East Chicago, Indiana, where she teaches advanced pastry and cake decorating courses; and owner of a custom cake and dessert shop, Red Lotus Cake Design, Merrillville. Miller’s experience includes cake decorator at local shops in northwest Indiana. She has associate degrees in baking and pastry arts from Ivy Tech Community College, Gary, Indiana, and in accounting from Commonwealth Business College, Merrillville. In 2014, she competed in the wedding cake quarter at America’s Baking and Sweets Show, Schaumburg, Illinois. In 2015, one of Miller’s cakes was featured in Cake Central Magazine, volume 6, issue 4. She is a member of ACF Chefs of Northwest Indiana.

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. ###