Johnson & Wales Announces Judges For National Culinary Challenge - Sr. Division

Twenty-one finalists, selected from more than 500 entrants in the National High School Culinary Challenge - Senior Division at Johnson & Wales University, will travel to the Charlotte Campus during the weekend of February 17-19 to compete for prizes including full tuition (valued at more than $80,000) and a private cooking lesson with Food Network star and J&W alumnus Tyler Florence, as well as a tour of the Food Network studios. In all, nearly half a million dollars will be awarded in scholarships to the nine dessert finalists and twelve dinner finalists, who will recreate their dishes for a panel of tasting judges, including:

-- Wolfgang Bierer, CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC, a certified American Culinary Federation (ACF) judge and culinary educator.
-- Joanne Chang, owner of Boston's award-winning Flour Bakery and contributor to Fine Cooking magazine.
- Gregg Hamm, a finalist from the 1992 contest who is currently a culinary arts instructor at Lee County Senior High School and Central Carolina Community College.
-- Alumnus Andy Husbands, award-winning chef/CEO of Ate Seasons Restaurant Group and author of "The Fearless Chef."
-- Edward Leonard, CMC, former president of the American Culinary Federation and manager of ACF Culinary Team USA.
-- David Megenis, CMC, CCE, vice president of purchasing with Compass Group North America.
-- Cary Neff, president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and author of "Conscious Cuisine."
-- Kathleen Purvis, food editor of The Charlotte Observer; she traveled to Providence to judge the 2003 contest.
-- Dan Scannell, CMC, J&W alumnus, executive chef of the Cherry Hills (Colo.) Country Club and member of the ACF Culinary Teams 2000 and 2004.
-- Andrew Shotts, owner of Garrison Confections, Inc., and one of Pastry Art & Design's "Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America."

Michelle Novak of Wellington, Ohio, won the Dinner Category of the 2005 contest and currently attends the Charlotte Campus. Her recipe, "Seared Salmon with Beet Risotto, Sautied Spinach, Wild Mushrooms and a Beet and Carrot Microgreen Salad with Carrot Sauce," was inspired by a lone leftover beet at the restaurant where she worked. Christopher Schmidt of Acworth, Ohio, won the Dessert Category of the 2005 contest with his "Citrus Vanilla Panna Cotta with an Orange Gelee, Apple Dried Fruit Compote, and an Oatmeal Crisp Base." He currently attends the Denver Campus.

Former finalists have gone on to a variety of jobs in the industry, including executive pastry chef at a country club; director of catering at a university; patient foodservice supervisor at a hospital; and research chef at a food manufacturer.

Johnson & Wales - America's Career University. - was founded in 1914. It is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, food service, education, hospitality and technology. Preparing students for successful careers is the cornerstone of the University's educational philosophy. A benchmark of the University has been its 28 consecutive year employment record - within 60 days of graduation, 98 percent of its students from the 50 states have jobs in their chosen career field. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, Johnson & Wales maintains campuses in Providence, R.I., Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va., North Miami, Fla., Denver, Colo., and Charlotte, N.C. For more information about Johnson & Wales University, visit www.jwu.edu.

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