Acf Culinary Team Usa Delivers A Stellar Performance Against The World's Best At The

John Kinsella, CMC, CCE, WGMC, AAC, American Culinary Federation (ACF) national president announced today that ACF Culinary Team USA delivered a stellar performance at the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) International Culinary Art Competition, also known as the "culinary Olympics," Oct. 19-22, in Erfurt, Germany, garnering eight gold medals, two silver medals and with all teams placing in the top 10 overall in their competition categories.

"ACF pride and the cuisine of American chefs was well represented by the ACF teams," said Edward Leonard, CMC, AAC, ACF Culinary Team USA manager. "From the regional teams to the military, national and youth teams, it was shown that American chefs and cooks can compete with the best."

ACF Culinary National Team USA earned two gold medals and one silver medal in cold food, Oct. 20, with its modern cold display, which showed the techniques and styles used in cooking today. The presentation was clean and strong, with food that reflected the current trends of cuisine. The team also earned a gold medal in hot food, Oct. 22, using sous vide methods and other modern American cuisine techniques. Of the 32 national teams that competed, the team placed seventh overall in the world. The first three overall rankings were as follows: Norway, first; Germany, second; and Sweden, third.

Both AAC Culinary Regional Team USA and ACF Culinary Regional Team USA earned a gold medal in their competitions, Oct. 20 and Oct. 22 respectively. The ACF regional team won the championship by a narrow margin, and the AAC regional team placed sixth, only three points behind their American counterparts. Second place was awarded to Culinary Team Alberta and Rhonek�che placed third. Sixty-two teams competed.

ACF Culinary Youth Team USA, comprised of five cooks from St. Louis, earned a gold medal in cold food, Oct. 20, improving from the bronze medal that the 2004 youth team earned in the same category. The team earned a silver medal in hot food, Oct. 22, and placed fourth overall in the world against 19 other youth teams. Germany placed first overall, Switzerland placed second and Sweden placed third.

The U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team, which included four ACF members, earned a gold medal in hot food, Oct. 20, and a gold medal in cold food, Oct. 22. The team placed second overall in the world. While the team did not officially fall under the banner of ACF Culinary Team USA, ACF chefs played major roles on the team.

"We are so proud of all our ACF teams and members who competed at the IKA this year," said Kinsella. "Most people don't realize how much time, effort and practice goes into a competition of this magnitude. Our chefs have been preparing for years, and it all comes down to a few days of competitions. They will never forget their experience at the 'culinary Olympics'."

ACF Culinary Team USA is the official representative team of the United States in major national and international culinary competitions. It comprises one national team of six members, two regional teams with five members each, and a youth team of five members less than 23 years old. Sponsors of ACF Culinary Team USA are Kraft Foodservice, Tyson Food Service, Uncle Ben's, Unilever, Club Managers Association of America, KitchenAid, Chef Revival, Fortessa, The Beef Checkoff , Friedr. Dick, Westchester Country Club and Blodgett. Visit www.acfchefs.org to learn more about the team.

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 21,500 members spanning 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and accre