INDIANAPOLIS James “Kevin” Storm, executive chef of the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, was named chef of the year at the American Culinary Federation’s 2010 Central Regional Conference at the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown last week.
Hosted by the ACF Greater Indianapolis chapter, the conference brought together hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals March 26-28 to compete in various categories. Winners will go on to compete for national titles at the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, Calif., scheduled for Aug. 2-5.
Central regional winners included:
- Nguyet Nguyen, assistant pastry chef at The Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, Mo., was named pastry chef of the year.
- Timothy Meyers, chef-instructor at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill., was named chef educator of the year.
- Gregory Wozniak, a retired chef from Germantown, Wis., was given the Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award.
- John Reed, owner of Customized Culinary Solutions in Skokie, Ill., was honored with the chef professionalism award.
- Brett Jacobs, an apprentice at the Elcona Country Club in Bristol, Ind., was named student chef of the year.
- Kendall College in Chicago won the Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl. The team included Allison Chikos, Erika Giffin, Sarah Roberts, Jacqueline Wallner and Edward Whitney, as well as coach Dina Altieri.
- Students from Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill., won the student team regional championship. The group included James Bingham, Matthew Cappellini, Lindsey Cizewski, Molly Meehan and Lauren Mulvey, as well as coaches Tim Bucci and Kyle Richardson.
- Jennifer Kelm, an apprentice at Lake Quivira Country Club in Shawnee Mission, Kan., won the make-it-mini dessert trio.
- Robert Stricklin, executive chef at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., won the one-pot win a lot contest.
- Bernard Urban, chef-ambassador at Ben E. Keith Co. in Conroe, Texas, was awarded with the Rene Roncari Senior Chef Humanitarian Award.
- The ACF Greater Kansas City Chefs Association was named Chapter of the Year; and achievement awards went to ACF chapters in Chicago, Greater Kansas City, Louis Joliet, Minneapolis, Iowa and South Bend, Ind.
- Cutting Edge awards went to Kelly Cook, director of the Texas Chefs Association in Dallas; Luis Fernando Mojica, a student at the Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill.; Rajeev Patgaonkar, executive sous chef of Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, Mich.; and Lindy Robinson, dean of the business division for Johnson County Community College.
- President’s Medallions went to Charles Duit, foodservice director for Buckner Retirement Services-Calder Woods in Beaumont, Texas; Jim Lund, executive chef of Rational USA in Montrose, Minn.; Paul Santaularia, culinary-arts instructor for Northland Career Center in Platte City, Mo.; and Charles “Eddie” Wilson, executive chef of the Clabber Girl Corp. in Terre Haute, Ind.
EARLIER: ACF honors Western chefs
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
