City Tech alumna Brown to be honored

Diane Harris Brown, director of educational and community programming for the James Beard Foundation (JBF), will be awarded the distinguished alumna and outstanding industry professional awards by New York City College of Technology's hospitality management department.

Diane Harris Brown (photo courtesy of Andy Ryan)

Brown, a 1982 graduate of City Tech, will receive the award at the hospitality management department's reception for the June 2009 graduating class, to be held May 11. While attending City Tech, Brown, along with some classmates, started a community service initiative to feed the hungry on Christmas, a program that is still available to City Tech hospitality management students in collaboration with Christian Help in Park Slope.

At JBF, Brown administers scholarship money to institutions offering culinary studies and manages JBF's monthly literary series, "Beard on Books." She also serves on the board of directors for Spoons Across America, a nonprofit organization that teaches about the benefits of healthy eating.

Kendall's Artlip earns recognition from ACF Chicago chapter

Mike Artlip, CEC, CCE, chair of the associate of applied science degree program at The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College, earned the 2009 Chef Professionalism Award from Windy City Professional Culinarians (WCPC), a chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF).


Artlip, in addition to overseeing Kendall's two-year culinary arts program, manages the Café at Kendall College, a student-run cafeteria serving students, faculty and staff at the school's Riverworks campus. A member of Kendall's faculty since 1987, Artlip also chairs the culinary school's Faculty Senate.

The WCPC Chef Professionalism Award recognizes exemplary character and achievement throughout a chef's career.

Taste Down Under culinary competition winners unveiled

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Johnson & Wales University announced the winners of the 2009 Taste Down Under culinary competition held recently at the Johnson & Wales Charlotte, N.C., and North Miami, Fla., campuses. Students submitted original bar food or appetizer recipes using Australian beef or lamb and no more than six total ingredients. The winners received a share of $12,000 total in scholarship money across both campuses. The winners and runners up at both campuses were as follows:

Charlotte

• winner: Ed Jobin, Australian Lamb Three Ways (photo below)

• second place: Justin Andrew Gregory, Australian Beef Strip Loin Make Salad

• third place: Michael Watson, Tamarind Citrus Glazed Australian Lamb Loin Kebobs and Sweet Citrus Salad

Miami

• winner: Anthony Dominguez, Coriander Seared Australian Lamb with Lamb Tartare and Baby Greens (photo below)

• second place: Peter Morales, Mini Australian Lamb Wellingtons

• third place: Asasha Roberts, Sweet Corn Polenta Cakes with Cumin Crusted Australian Beef Strip Loin

ACF SE Regional Conference winners announced

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) announced the 2009 award recipients at the ACF Southeast Regional Conference held April 18 to 20. The winners will compete for national titles against their winning regional counterparts at the 2009 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Fla. July 11 to 14.

And the winners are:

• Chef of the Year P. Richard Brumm (photo below), CEC, executive sous chef, La Gorce Country Club, Miami Beach, Fla.

• Pastry Chef of the Year Heather Hurlbert (photo below), executive pastry chef, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta

• Chef Educator of the Year David Weir (photo below), CEC, CCE, associate professor at Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Fla.

• Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award Wolfgang Bierer (photo below), CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC, retired, Hilton Head Island, S.C.

• Chef Professionalism Award Edmund Chinners (photo below), CEC, CCA, operations manager, Sodexo, Columbia, S.C.

• Student Chef of the Year Andrew Addleman II (photo below), sous chef, Chowders Seafood/River Rocks, Rockledge, Fla.

• Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club, Johnson & Wales University-Miami, North Miami, Fla.: Alissa Ebel; Catherine Gonzalez, CC; Victoria Gonzalez; Rebecca Lerman; and Marisa Roussell. The team is coached by Alan Lazar, CCE

• Student Team Regional Championship ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, N.C.: Michael Aanonsen, Shannon Ginn, Steven Goff, Anna McClintock and Travis McCloud. The team was coached by Charles deVries, CEPC

• Joseph Amendola Outstanding Member Award Geoffrey Blount, CEPC, executive pastry chef, Bakery Bistro Initiative at Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, N.C.

• Chapter of the Year ACF Midlands Chapter, Columbia, S.C.

• Chapter Achievement Award ACF Midlands Chapter; ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter, Nashville Tenn.; ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Tampa, Fla.

• ACF President's Medallions Edmund Chinners; Winslow Goodier, CEC, ACC, executive chef, Hermitage Technical Center, Richmond, Va.; John Kacala, CEC, AAC, executive chef/culinary consultant, Sysco Foodservice, Columbia, S.C.; Audrey Lennon, posthumously, president/executive chef, The Sauceress Inc., Orlando, Fla.; Herman Packer, CEC, CCE, AAC, executive chef-instructur, Bishop State Community College, Mobile, Ala.; J. Kevin Walker, CMC, AAC, executive chef, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta

• American Academy of Chefs Chair's Scholarship Russ Thayer, pastry chef, River Hills Country Club, Lake Wylie, S.C., and student, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, N.C.

Tabasco opens 2009 Hottest Chef Contest

McIllhenny Co., maker of Tabasco Pepper Sauce, has launched the 2009 Hottest Chef Contest, inviting culinary students and professional chefs in the United States and Canada to create and submit an original menu item using easily sourced, fresh ingredients. To qualify, entries must include Original Tabasco Pepper sauce, Tabasco Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce or Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Additionally, featured dishes must be considered profitable for a restaurant to sell. Entries can be submitted online at www.tabascofoodservice.com until July 17.

The culinary student with the winning recipe will receive a $2,500 prize. The winning professional chef will receive $10,000. For more information, visit Tabasco's Web site, or call 1-888-HOT-DASH.

Monroe College names Tottenville senior Best High School Chef

Best High School Chef Kerry Pace

The Monroe College School of Hospitality Management awarded Kerry Pace, a senior at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, N.Y., the title of America's Best High School Chef at a competition from April 17 to 19. Pace and three of her classmates competed in the finals on April 19 after their team was named the best of seven.

(l to r) the Tottenville team: Nikki Rizzo, Anna Belfiore, Kerry Pace and Steve Young

Pace's winning dish of chicken rollatini, tarragon mushrooms, roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans won her a full scholarship to the Monroe College Culinary Arts program and admission into the college's study-abroad program in Italy.

LDEI launches Legacy Awards competition

Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI) is holding its first-ever Legacy Awards competition. The competition is open to women in the United States and Canada who have been working in the food, beverage or hospitality industry for at least two years. Applications are due May 15, and the winners will be announced on June 15.

The LDEI Legacy Awards winners will receive week-long internships with accomplished dames in the food, beverage and hospitality industry in New York City's catering scene, Washington State's wine country or at a premier hotel property in Dallas. For more information, visit www.ldei.org.