Award Winners Announced At 2010 American Culinary Federation Southeast Regional Conference

The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., the largest association of professional culinarians in North America, held its 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, Birmingham, Ala., April 24-26.

At the conference, the American Academy of Chefs (AAC), 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.

ACF honored members and chapters at the conference. The 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference award recipients listed below will compete for national titles against their winning regional counterparts at the 2010 ACF National Convention in Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 2-5.

Chef of the Year, sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions
Jonn Nishiyama, garde manger chef, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.

Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Splenda�
Andreas Proisl, executive pastry chef, Isleworth Country Club, Windermere, Fla.; ACF Central Florida Chapter

Chef Educator of the Year
Kenneth Bourgoin, CEC, chef-instructor, Valencia Community College, Orlando, Fla.; ACF Central Florida Chapter

Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award
Donald McMillan, CEC, AAC, chef-instructor, The Stocked Pot Cooking School, Winston-Salem, N.C.; ACF Triad Chapter NC

Chef Professionalism Award, sponsored by Minor's�
Michael Rosen, CEC, executive chef, The Speedway Club at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.; ACF Inc. Charlotte Chapter

Student Chef of the Year, sponsored by Custom Culinary, Inc.
Daniel Gorman, line cook, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta; ACF National Chapter

Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by American Technical Publishers
Lincoln Culinary Institute, West Palm Beach, Fla., members of ACF Palm Beach County Chefs Association: Hitesh Arora, CC, CPC; Andrew Croney, CPC; Glendon David; Francois Leonce; and Jami Yaccarino. The team is coached by Steve Sitnick.

Student Team Regional Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc.
ACF Chefs of the Low Country, Bluffton, S.C., students from Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Ga.: Valarie Barnes, Zebulon Berry, Elizabeth Estes, Alexander Jabr and Kevin Jump. The team is coached by Jean Vendeville, CEPC.

Make-It-Mini Dessert Trio, sponsored by MARS Foodservice
Kyongran Hwang, assistant pastry chef, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.

One-Pot Win A Lot, sponsored by Riviana
Louis Chatham, CEC, AAC, executive chef, PCI Gaming, Atmore, Ala.; ACF Choctaw Chapter

The 2010 ACF Southeast Regional Conference award recipients listed below were recognized for their outstanding contributions and goodwill.

Joseph Amendola Outstanding Member Award
Jeffrey Rotz, CEC, CCE, AAC, culinary educator, Eustis High School, Eustis, Fla.; ACF Gulf to Lake Chefs and Cooks Association, Inc.

Chapter of the Year
ACF Inc. Charlotte Chapter, Charlotte, N.C.

Chapter Achievement Award
ACF Central Florida Chapter, Orlando, Fla.
ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc., Atlanta
ACF Inc. Charlotte Chapter
ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc., Tampa, Fla.
ACF Triad Chapter NC, High Point, N.C.

Cutting Edge Award
Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Robert Sparks, CEPC, food advisor, U.S. Army, Fort Lee, Va.; Old Dominion ACF Chapter
ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.
ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association Inc.

ACF President's Medallions
Anthony Lauri, CEC, AAC, executive chef, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.; ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club
Philip Lloyd, CEC, executive chef, Country Club of Salisbury, Salisbury, N.C.; ACF Inc. C