BIRMINGHAM, Ala. The American Culinary Federation’s Southeast region named Jonn Nishiyama, garde manger chef at the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta, as its chef of the year Monday night.
Nishiyama was given the honor during the ACF Southeast Regional Conference’s closing gala. Hosted by the ACF Birmingham Chapter, the conference brought together more than 330 chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals April 24-26 at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel to compete in various categories.
Regional winners will compete Aug. 2-5 for national titles at the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, Calif.
Other Southeast region awards and honorees included:
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Pastry chef of the year: Andreas Proisl, executive pastry chef at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla.
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Chef educator of the year: Kenneth Bourgoin, chef-instructor at Valencia Community College in Orlando, Fla.
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Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award: Donald McMillan, chef-instructor at The Stocked Pot Cooking School in Winston-Salem, N.C.
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Chef professionalism award: Michael Rosen, executive chef of The Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord.
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Student chef of the year: Daniel Gorman, line cook at the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta.
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Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl: Lincoln Culinary Institute of West Palm Beach, Fla., which included members Hitesh Arora, Andrew Croney, Glendon David, Francois Leonce and Jami Yaccarino and team coach Steve Sitnick.
- Student team regional championship: students from Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Ga., including Valarie Barnes, Zebulon Berry, Elizabeth Estes, Alexander Jabr and Kevin Jump as well as coach Jean Vendeville.Make-it-mini dessert trio:Kyongran Hwang, assistant pastry chef at the Cherokee Town and Country Club in Atlanta.
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One-pot win a lot: Louis Chatham, executive chef for PCI Gaming in Atmore, Ala.
Among regional conference awards were:
- Joseph Amendola Outstanding Member Award: Jeffrey Rotz, culinary educator at Eustis High School, Eustis, Fla.
- Chapter of the Year: ACF Inc. Charlotte, N.C.
- Chapter Achievement Awards: ACF Central Florida Chapter, Orlando, Fla.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc., Atlanta; ACF Inc. Charlotte Chapter; ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc., Tampa, Fla.: and ACF Triad Chapter NC, High Point, N.C.
- Cutting Edge Awards: Chief Warrant Officer 4C Robert Sparks, food advisor for U.S. Army at Fort Lee, Va.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.; and ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc.
- ACF President’s Medallions were presented by Michael Ty, national ACF president, to: Anthony Lauri, executive chef, at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla.; Philip Lloyd, executive chef at the Country Club of Salisbury in Salisbury, N.C.; Roger Newell, culinary-arts instructor at the Technical Education Center Osceola in Kissimmee, Fla.; and David Pantone, dean of culinary education at the Lincoln Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The American Academy of Chefs, ACF’s honor society, gave a $1,000 grant to the Southeast Region Student Team Regional Champions, ACF Chefs of the Low Country, to assist the team with expenses to travel to the national competition in August.
The American Culinary Federation Inc., established in 1929, has more than 22,000 members in 230 chapters nationwide.
EARLIER:
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
