Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, HGT, AAC
Candy Wallace
Gui Alinat, CEC
John Draz, CEC, CCE
Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE
Press Release
American Culinary Federation Members Receive Top
Honors at Cordon D’ Or - Gold Ribbon International Culinary
Academy Awards Ceremony
St. Augustine, Fla., May 3, 2010—Five
American Culinary Federation (ACF) members from California, Florida,
Illinois and Pennsylvania received International Culinary Academy Awards
at the 2009–2010 Cordon D’ Or - Gold Ribbon awards
presentation, held at The Don CeSar, St. Petersburg, Fla., April 30.
In the Academy of Culinary Arts category, Thomas
Macrina, CEC, CCA, HGT, AAC, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., executive
chef at Desmond Great Valley Hotel and Conference Center, Malvern, Pa.,
received the Culinarian of the Year award. Macrina is chair of the
American Academy of Chefs, ACF’s honor society, and is a member of
ACF Philadelphia Chapter. Also in that category, Candy Wallace, founder/executive director of the
American Personal & Private Chef Association, San Diego, a member of
ACF National Chapter, received the Culinary Entrepreneur award.
Gui Alinat, CEC, of Clearwater, Fla.,
chef/owner of Elite Events Catering, Tampa, Fla., a member of ACF
National Chapter, won the Culinary Reference award in the Cookbooks and
Culinary Arts-Culinary Literature category for The Chef’s
Répertoire (American Technical Publishers, 2010). He also
won the Special Merit Award for Culinary Website/Blog for www.chefgui.com.
Also in the Cookbooks and Culinary Arts–Culinary Literature
category, John Draz, CEC, CCE, of Chicago, and
Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, of Oak Park,
Ill., members of ACF Windy City Professional Culinarians Inc., won the
Culinary Textbook award for The Culinary Professional
(Goodheart-Willcox Publisher, 2010). Draz is executive research chef at
Ed Miniat, Inc., South Holland, Ill., and Koetke is dean of The School
of Culinary Arts, Kendall College, Chicago.
“Being recognized and awarded the Cordon D’ Or - Gold
Ribbon is an honor that validates the many years and long hours of work
in the kitchen cooking to the best of my abilities each and every
day,” said Macrina, one of the ACF honorees. “It is humbling
to be associated with a group as distinguished and successful as the
past and current recipients of this award. I want to thank the American
Culinary Federation for the excellent educational and
professional-enhancement opportunities that it has have offered me
through the years. These experiences contributed greatly to my continued
growth and success as a cook and chef.”
The Cordon D’ Or - Gold Ribbon Awards program is part of Cordon
d’ Or - Gold Ribbon, Inc., located in St. Petersburg, Fla. The
program was established in 1985 in Europe and has been in the U.S. since
1990, according to Noreen Kinney, president. For more information, and a
complete list of the 2009–2010 award recipients, visit www.cordondorcuisine.com.
The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the
premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With
more than 20,000 members spanning 225 chapters nationwide, ACF is the
culinary leader in offering educational resources, training,
apprenticeship and programmatic accreditation. In addition, ACF operates
the most 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 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.
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For photos and interviews, contact Leah Craig at (904) 484-0213 or lcraig@acfchefs.net.
Contact: Leah Craig
Communications Manager
(904) 484-0213
lcraig@acfchefs.net