ACF Today, Vol. III, No. 22
October 17, 2005

In this edition . . .
* Northeast Regional Educational Forum Deadline Oct. 21
* First Deadline for 2006 ACF Western Regional Conference Oct. 31
* Deadline for 2006 ACF Award Applications Oct. 31
* 90th International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show Offers Opportunity for Continuing-Education Hours
* ACF Assurance Programs Offers Opportunity for Recognition
* AAC Application Deadline Nearing
* Chefs Celebrate International Chefs Day
* Center of the Plate Wants to Hear from You!

Northeast Regional Educational Forum Deadline Oct. 21

The 2005 Northeast Regional Educational Forum will be held on Oct. 28-29 at the Desmond Hotel & Conference Center in Malvern, Penn. The forum is approved for 10 continuing-education hours, and the cost of registration is $125, which includes all educational forums as well as a Friday evening ice-breaker; Saturday breakfast, brunch and dinner; and Sunday breakfast and lunch. The registration deadline is Oct. 21, so don't delay! For information about room availability, contact Mark Wright, CEC, AAC, at mwright@acfchefs.net or Tom Macrina, CEC, AAC, at tmacrina@acfchefs.net.

The first registration deadline for the 2006 ACF Western Regional Conference, which will be held at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii's Big Island, is Oct. 31. The conference will run from Thursday, Feb. 2 to Monday, Feb. 6, and is hosted by ACF Kona-Kohala Chefs de Cuisine, Inc. ACF members who register by the first deadline receive a discount on registration. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org or call Jennie Snell or Tracy Smith at 800-624-9458.

The deadline for the 2006 award applications, such as U.S.A.'s Chef of the Year, Chef Professionalism, Student Culinarian of the Year, etc., is Oct. 31. The ACF National Office must receive all applications by this date. Visit http://www.acfchefs.org/events/evt.html for more information or to download applications

90th International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show Offers Opportunity for Continuing-Education Hours

The 90th International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show® (IH/M&RS), which runs from Saturday, Nov. 12 through Tuesday, Nov. 15 at New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, will feature 1,700 exhibitors with thousands of products and services for hotels, restaurants and other hospitality outlets.
In addition to the exhibits, the show offers more than 40 educational seminars, many of which are approved for continuing-education hours for certification (see below). The show will also feature a power-packed opening day of conferences for either the hospitality or foodservice executive ($99 additional fee), as well as dozens of exciting culinary demonstrations and competitions and countless networking opportunities. Don't miss all that it offers to make your business a success!
Through an agreement between ACF and the IH/M&RS, we are pleased to offer you one complimentary admission - valued at $50 - for the show. Just visit http://www.ihmrs.com/register/ and enter the special promotional code ACF05.

Programs Approved for Continuing-Education Hours (CEH)
IHM & RS Trade Show 3.0 CEH
Food Arts Annual Trends Survey 1.0 CEH
Spa Cuisine Scales New Heights 2.0 CEH
The New Directions of Asian Flavors 1.0 CEH
The New Directions of Latin Flavors 1.5 CEH
Food View, A Presentation of Research Chefs Assoc. 1.5 CEH
Research, Development & Pursuit of Sustainability 1.0 CEH
Research, Development & Pursuit of Food Safety 1.5 CEH
The New Techno Marketing 1.0 CEH
A Two-Act Exercise in Evaluation 1.5 CEH
Education Gears up w/ Programs in Research & Develop. 1.5 CEH

You can also check out www.ihmrs.com for complete IH/M&RS details, including an exhibitor list and schedule of events.

ACF Assurance Program Offers Opportunity for Recognition

ACF's new Educational Assurance program offers the opportunity for non-degree granting culinary programs that do not fall under the scope of the ACFF Accrediting Commission to become recognized by ACF.

Programs that qualify include short-term culinary programs offering less than the required 1,000 hours for ACFF accreditation; specialized- or single-subject training programs such as cake decorating or pulled-sugar training programs; existing ACF accredited programs that offer certificate and/or diploma programs; formalized demonstration classes; and online educational programs. Military training programs, including academic and apprenticeship training, may also qualify. For more information about the program and how to apply, please contact ACF at 800-624-9458, ext. 101.

AAC Application Deadline Nearing

ACF members who wish to apply for election in 2006 into the American Academy of Chefs, the honor society of ACF, should submit their applications and all materials to the AAC National Office by Dec. 31, 2005.

Requirements mandatory for consideration in the honor society include:

* must be certified as an ACF master chef, master pastry chef, executive chef, executive pastry chef and/or culinary educator for a minimum of two years
* must be in the culinary profession a minimum of 15 years, 10 of which must be at the executive chef or culinary educator level
* must be an ACF member in good standing for a minimum of 10 years
* must have attended four ACF regional conferences and/or national conventions within any 10-year period
* must fulfill a minimum of 10 of 20 elective attainable goals
* all requirements/goals must be met the year prior to induction

For more information or to request an application, please contact Laura Howell in the AAC National Office at 800-624-9458, ext. 102.

Chefs Celebrate International Chefs Day

The World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS), representing approximately eight million chefs worldwide, will salute the culinary profession and culinarians by celebrating International Chefs Day on Oct. 20, 2005. The goal is to raise awareness of chefs as leading professionals who set industry standards for the art of cooking and who infuse passion into the food industry throughout the world.

Chefs from 72 countries will create widespread awareness of the profession by hosting competitions and events in their country to raise funds for fellow chef associations and the worldwide community. The culinary community will also partner with government officials, charitable organizations and tourism boards in their country to drive recognition for WACS. For more information on International Chefs Day, visit www.wacs2000.org.

Do you or your company do any food drives or fund-raisers around the holidays? Or, are you involved in any local holiday community-service activities? If so, let us know by e-mailing lhowell@acfchefs.net. Your story might just be featured in the next Center of the Plate.

©2007 American Culinary Federation

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