U. S. Army Master Sergeant Mark Morgan Named Pastry Chef For Internationally-acclaimed A C F Culinary Team U S A

Certified Master Chef Steve Jilleba, CMC, CCE, AAC, corporate executive chef for Unilvever Foodsolutions, Lisle, Ill., and ACF Culinary Team USA manager, announced today that U.S. Army Master Sgt. Mark Morgan has been named pastry chef for the internationally acclaimed culinary competition team, ACF Culinary Team USA.

"Mark brings a vast amount of experience in international culinary competition to the team and will be a huge asset," Jilleba said. "We are proud to welcome him as we get ready to compete in November at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg."

Morgan, a recipient of the bronze service medal, is chef and senior enlisted aide to General Martin E. Dempsey of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Monroe, Va., and is an avid culinary competitor. Following in his father's footsteps, he has served on the U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team (USACAT) since 1997 as a pastry chef and advisor. The team won gold and silver medals at the 1998 Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg, was named world champions in the military category at the 2000 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA), or "culinary Olympics," in Erfurt, Germany, in 2000, and earned a gold medal in hot food and cold food, placing second overall, at the 2008 IKA. In addition, Morgan was the 2000 Army Chef of the Year and has earned numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in ACF-sanctioned competitions, as well as five best in show.

Morgan joined the Army in June 1994. He attended basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and advanced individual training at Fort Lee, Va. He graduated from the U.S. Army Airborne, Ranger Indoctrination Program, Jumpmaster and Pathfinder schools at Fort Benning, Ga. He earned a bachelor's degree in nutrition. His assignments have taken him across the United States, and he has been deployed several times to Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

MSG Morgan joins six other chefs on the team and replaces Andrew Chlebana, CEC, CCA, who withdrew in August. They are:
- Timothy Bucci, CEC, CCE, CHE, Oak Forest, Ill., associate professor, Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Ill.; ACF Louis Joliet Chapter
- Ben Grupe, St. Louis, sous chef, Old Warson Country Club, St. Louis; ACF National Chapter
- Joseph Leonardi, CEC, Johnston, R.I., executive chef, Somerset Club, Boston; ACF Rhode Island Chapter; ACF Culinary Team USA Captain
- Timothy Prefontaine, CEC, Fort Worth, Texas, executive chef, The Fort Worth Club, Fort Worth; ACF National Chapter
- Kevin Storm, CEC, CCA, AAC, Ballwin, Mo., executive chef, Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis; Chefs de Cuisine Association of St. Louis Inc.
- Eddie Tancredi, White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., sous chef, The Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs; ACF Columbus Chapter

The team's first international culinary competition is Nov. 20-24 at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. Members will train individually and as a group to hone their cooking skills and perfect their techniques. Team practices will take place at the following Johnson & Wales University campuses: Sept. 18-22, Providence, R.I.; Oct. 4-8, Charlotte, N.C.; and October 20-22, Miami.

Sponsors of ACF Culinary Team USA are Chef Revival, Johnson & Wales University, Unilever Foodsolutions, McCain Foods, Sara Lee Foodservice, Villeroy & Boch, ACF Philadelphia Chapter, ACF South Bend Chefs and Cooks Association and YoCream International, Inc.

About ACF Culinary Team USA
ACF Culinary National Team USA is a top contender on the world culinary stage. They placed fifth overall and won two gold medals at the 2006 Culinary World Cup. The 1960 team captured the first world championship at IKA and repeated the distinction in 1980, 1984 and 1988 by winning the hot-food competition all three times and establishing a new world record for the most consecutive gold-medal wins. They took home the gold medal in hot-food cooking in 2004. Since 1998, all ACF Culi