Press Release

Culinary Students Compete for Regional Award in North Carolina, Feb. 20–21

St. Augustine, Fla., January 23, 2012—How quickly can you fabricate a fish and two whole chickens? Could you prepare the classical French dish suprême de volaille a l’ecarlate under the watchful eye of professional chefs? That’s just what five teams of culinary students will do during the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) Southeast Regional Student Team Championship, Feb. 20–21. The competition, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc., takes place at Guilford Technical Community College (601 High Point Rd., Jamestown, NC 27282) during the 2012 ACF Southeast Regional Conference, held Feb. 20-22 at the Winston-Salem Marriott. The winning team will advance to the national competition in Orlando, Fla., in July.

The ACF Student Team Championship 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. To compete at the regional level, teams must first win local and state competitions.

The regional competition consists of three phases: cold-food presentation, skills and cooking. During the cooking phase, teams will prepare four portions of a fish starter, salad and dessert of their choice and the pre-assigned classical entrée, suprême de volaille a l’ecarlate from Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery. A panel of judges will select the winning team, which will be announced at the Regional Awards Gala, Wednesday, Feb. 22. Here are the 2012 candidates:

Florida

Students representing ACF Central Florida Chapter who attend Valencia Community College, Orlando, Fla., will compete. Kenneth Bourgoin, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Georgia

Students representing ACF Golden Isles of Georgia Chapter who attend College of Coastal Georgia, Brunswick, Ga., will compete. Daniel Zeal is the team’s coach.

Kentucky

Students representing ACF Kentucky Chapter who attend Sullivan University, Louisville, Ky., will compete. Derek Spendlove, CEPC, CCE, AAC, is the team’s coach.

North Carolina

Students representing ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association who attend Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, N.C., will compete. Bronwen McCormick is the team’s coach.

South Carolina

Students representing ACF Greater Charleston South Carolina Chapter who attend Culinary Institute of Charleston, Charleston, S.C., will compete. Ward Morgan, CEC, is the team’s coach.

Hundreds of chefs, foodservice professionals and students will attend this year’s culinary conference in Winston-Salem, N.C. There will be educational seminars, culinary demos, networking and social functions, culinary competitions, meal events and more. For information, visit www.acfchefs.org/events or call (800) 624-9458. Follow conference happenings on Twitter at #ACFSE. Find ACF on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ACFChefs and on Twitter @ACFChefs.

Sponsors of the 2012 ACF Southeast Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors are: American Technical Publishers; Barry Callebaut; Canada Cutlery Inc.; the Certified Angus Beef® brand; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Inc.; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Ecolab®; Fortuna Enterprises Coffee Shop Solutions; Idaho® Potato Commission; Joyce Foods; Lactalis Foodservice; McCormick For Chefs; Mercer Cutlery; MINOR’S®; Mississippi Seafood Marketing; PreGel America; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Riviana Foods Inc.; S&D Coffee; Southern Foods; Texas Pete® Hot Sauce; Tyson Foods, Inc.; US Foods; Uncle Ben’s; Unilever Food Solutions; Vitamix Corporation; and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

About the American Culinary Federation

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 more than 210 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, with the Certified Executive Chef® designation the only culinary credential 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.

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Editor’s note: To arrange interviews or to request press credentials to attend, contact Leah Craig at lcraig@acfchefs.net or (904) 484-0213.

Contact: Leah Craig
Communications Manager
(904) 484-0213
lcraig@acfchefs.net

• Culinary Students Compete for Regional Award in North Carolina, Feb. 20–21