Team Articles
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When members of ACF Culinary National Team USA compete in the
International Culinary Art Competition (IKA) in Erfurt, Germany, this
month, they take with them this advice from Edward Leonard, CMC, AAC,
ACF Culinary Team USA manager and national team member: “Those who
do not take risks when they step into the arena neither enjoy much nor
learn much, because they live in a black-and-white world that knows
neither winning nor losing.”
Mellisa Root began her culinary journey on a bicycle. As a young
child—having exhausted her mother’s Betty Crocker
cookbooks—she rode that bicycle to the local library, where she
checked out her own selections. At home she searched for recipes in
preparation for Tuesday night, her night to cook for the family.
Edward Leonard, CMC, AAC, attended his first International Culinary
Art Exhibition (IKA) in 1984 as an apprentice to Fritz Sonnenschmidt,
CMC, AAC, HOF. He has not missed the event, held in Germany every four
years, since. This year’s IKA, Leonard’s seventh, is his
third as a member of ACF Culinary National Team USA.
Jamie Keating, CCC, first tried out for ACF Culinary Team USA a
decade ago. “I didn’t make the cut,” he says,
“but I continued to work hard and pursue my dream of becoming a
member of this elite group of chefs.”
Richard Rosendale, CC, is a prime example of the best of the upcoming
generation of young culinarians: disciplined, committed and determined
to do whatever it takes to meet his goals. In 2002, at the age of 25,
her tried out for and earned a place on ACF Culinary Team USA, which, in
2004, won back World Champion status in hot cookery for the United
States and placed third overall in the world.
Joachim Buchner, CMC, likes a challenge. He wanted to be a German
master chef by the age of 26, and with that goal accomplished, aimed to
be a U.S. certified master chef before he turned 30. Another goal met.
His latest challenge is to win four gold medals with ACF Culinary
National Team USA at the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA)
International Culinary Art Competition in Erfurt in October.
Daniel J. Scannell, CMC, has an ambitious goal. At the International
Culinary Art Exhibition (IKA) that takes place in Erfurt, Germany, in
October, he wants the six-person U.S. team to place first overall in the
world and bring home gold medals in both hot cookery and cold food.
Passionate people who care about food and care about their
jobs—that’s how a member of Westchester Country Club’s
culinary team describes her co-workers. “We have a solid culinary
program at Westchester that only continues to get stronger,” says
Sarah Deckert, banquet sous chef at the club in Rye, N.Y. “Food is
what we love, and we all motivate each other to create great
dishes.”
Pastry has been good to Joseph Decker. This certified master pastry
chef has built a successful career practicing the art and skill that is
his passion, first in restaurants and bakery operations, then moving
into research and development. Today, he’s a chef-instructor at
Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich. For the past decade, there has
been something missing, however: involvement in culinary
competition.
Steve Jilleba, CMC, CCE, AAC, wants two things from the members of
ACF Culinary Youth Team USA: dedication, and a willingness to practice
as never before.
Three gold medals, one silver medal, and second place in the hot-food
kitchen propelled ACF Culinary Regional Team USA almost to the top of a
field of 12 at the American Culinary Classic in May in Chicago. The team
placed fourth overall, and fourth in cold food.
This month, a young culinary team is realizing a dream: the
opportunity to represent its country at the American Culinary Classic,
one of the most important international culinary competitions in the
world. The team will compete in the Classic at the National Restaurant
Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show® Sunday, May 20, and
Tuesday, May 22, at McCormick Place, Chicago.
It was curiosity that led ACF Culinary Team USA to one of the most
successful items on its gold medal-winning hot-food menu at the 2004
International Culinary Exhibition (IKA) in Erfurt, Germany. One day
during the months that led up to the competition, team manager/captain
Edward Leonard, CMC, AAC, was eating at a Peruvian casual-dining
restaurant. “I was curious, and ordered the dish they called
stuffed mashed potato, and here was this nicely browned potato-shaped
concoction on my plate,” he says. “It was mashed potato that
had been fried, and when I placed a fork inside, out came a flavorful
pork stew.”
When ACF Culinary Team USA’s national team headed for
Luxembourg in November, the purpose of the trip was clear: to compete in
the 2006 Culinary World Cup against their international peers. But the
team was doing much more than that. Team members were teaching the
tricks of the trade, in this case, the nuances that go into competing
successfully in the international culinary competition arena, to six
members of ACF Culinary Team USA’s regional team.
This month, the ACF Culinary Team USA national team competes in the
Culinary World Cup, which is held every four years during the Expogast
trade show in Luxembourg. The team takes with it a wealth of experience
in the international-competition arena; five of the six team members
were part of the Team USA that earned World Champion status in hotfood
cookery in October 2004 at the International culinary Exhibition (IKA),
more commonly known as the “[culinary] Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany.
