A C F Western Regional Conference In Salt Lake City To Draw 400 Chefs And Culinarians To Train And Learn

St. Augustine, Fla., March 31, 2008 - The American Culinary Federation (ACF), Inc., comes to Salt Lake City, Utah to hold its 2008 ACF Western Regional Conference, "A Dash of Salt," April 19-21.

Located in the heart of downtown, The Hilton Salt Lake City Center will set the scene for the 400 chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals attending. Hosted by ACF Beehive Chapter, Inc., the conference combines numerous educational opportunities with business seminars, forums and cutting-edge demonstrations. There is also a trade show for foodservice exhibitors to showcase their latest culinary products.

This year's trade show, held on Saturday, April 19, features A Tribute to Military Culinarians - The Freedom Chefs Challenge. The culinary challenge will include two-man teams representing all five branches of the United States military. The center of the trade show floor will be converted into the "Pentagon" where each team will have its own competition kitchen. The competition will be surrounded by exhibitor booths and food-and-beverage stations offering attendees an array of options of activities while the chefs battle it out.

The ACF Professional Development Program, comprised of the Educator Development Series and the Career Development Series, is an educational opportunity for attendees to augment their overall knowledge and skill base, and foster their professional growth. The Educator Development Series discusses the latest culinary teaching methods to enhance learning and course design. The Career Development Series focuses on nutrition, food safety and sanitation, supervision practices, business management and lifestyle enrichment.

Programming includes:
� Global Flavors and Your Menu, sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions
� Molecular Gastronomy
� Origin vs. Blended Chocolates: Part I, The Explanation, sponsored by Guittard Chocolate
� Origin vs. Blended Chocolates: Part II, Dessert Formulation, sponsored by Guittard Chocolate
� Becoming a Personal Professional Chef
� Organics from Farm to Table
� The Investing Chef, sponsored by Mind's Eye Resource Management, LLC
� It's All About Flavor: Cheese Course Trends and Examples, sponsored by Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board, Inc.
� The Competitive Edge
� Foods of the Titanic
� Pastry - A Look at the Past, Present and Future

Conference attendees can also watch the region's top chefs competing in a variety of contests that will test culinary knowledge and skill. Contests not to miss include:
� U.S.A.'s Chef of the Year�, sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions
� ACF Pastry Chef of the Year, sponsored by Splenda�
� ACF Student Culinarian of the Year, sponsored by Custom Culinary, Inc.
� Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl, sponsored by Pearson Prentice Hall
� ACF Student Team Regional Championship, sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc.

The 2008 ACF Northeast Regional Conference award winner recipients will compete for the national title against their winning regional counterparts at the 2008 ACF National Convention in Las Vegas, July 14-17, at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino.

Visit www.acfchefs.org to learn more about the ACF Western Regional Conference. Registration is available on-site.

Sponsors of the 2008 ACF Western Regional Conference and national award sponsors include: Barber Foods; Buckhead Beef Company; Butterball Farms, Inc.; Canada Cutlery Inc.; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, Inc.; Contessa Premium Foods; Custom Culinary, Inc.; GFF, Inc./Girard's Dressings; Guittard Chocolate Co.; La Brea Bakery; Lactalis Foodservice, Inc; Lobster Select; Mann's Fresh Vegetables; MARS Foodservices; Mind's Eye Resource Management, LLC; ; Nestl� Professional; New Mexico Department of Agriculture; NEWCHEF Fashions; Nueske's App