Nov. 27, 2017
The American Culinary Federation(ACF) declared the selection of eight talented chefs after a rigorous selection process from across the U.S. that will comprise its ACF Culinary Team USA 2020. The official representative for the U.S. in major international culinary competitions will join the team that will train over the next few years for a string of competitions that will culminate in the 2020 Internationale Kochkunst Aussetellung (IIKA) in Stuttgart, Germany which is also known as the “culinary Olympics”.
The ACF National president Stafford T. Decambra, CEC, CCE, CCA, AAC said, “This impressive group of professionals has earned the opportunity to represent American chefs and cuisine on the global stage, and we are more than confident that they are up to the challenge. We look forward to following their progress as they train, and to cheering their successes in the coming years.”
The eight chefs that were chosen after completing a multi-part application and competition process earlier this year were:
- Stephen Bush, CEC, team chef, sous chef in Naples, FL at The Club.
- Gerald Ford, CMC, team chef, senior sous chef at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, FL.
- Lyn Wells, UT and adjunct instructor at Utah Valley University Culinary Arts Institute and team chef, sous chef at Cowboy Kitchen/Club in Wellington.
- Andrew Corrao, CCC, CEPC, team pastry chef, banquet/pastry chef at Bambara Restaurant in Salt Lake City, UT.
- Robert Marilla, CEC, team chef, chef instructor at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, NC.
- Kelsee Newman, CEPC, team pastry chef, pastry arts instructor at Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in Cincinnati, OH.
- Thomas Haggerty, CCC, team chef, sous chef at the Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande, FL.
- Geoffrey Lanez, CEC, team chef, sous chef at Somerset Club and CEO/owner of Burrd Productions in Boston, MA.
The chef’s chosen will work with the team’s coaches and managers to prepare their first competition at the Culinary World Cup/EXPOGAST 2018 in Luxembourg.
The ACF Culinary Team USA Manager Reimund Pitz, CEC, CCE, AAC said, “In assembling this Culinary Team USA, we looked for culinarians who demonstrated consummate skill and creativity, the ability to work as part of a team and a fierce dedication to the craft. As experienced competitors ourselves, the leadership team and I will endeavor to pass on our wisdom to these chefs, and to ensure that each of them has the resources they need to hone their abilities even further.”
Browne Foodservice, Friedr. Dick, NewChef Southbend, Turbo Chef and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board are the current sponsors of ACF Culinary Team USA. Team managers are presently accepting the application until Dec 1 via the website for the ACF Culinary Youth Team USA.