ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla., February 23, 2010– John Reed, CEC, CCA, Skokie, Ill., is one of 15 chefs who qualified to compete in the second of two culinary competitions to determine who will be selected to represent the United States on ACF Culinary Team USA at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg this November and the 2012 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA), commonly referred to as the “culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany.
The first of two tryouts for ACF Culinary Team USA, the official representative team of the United States in major international culinary competition was held Feb. 19-21 at Elgin Community College, Elgin, Ill. featuring the cold-food segment. After a grueling tryout process in which the 26 chef candidates had 17 hours to prepare, plate and present their dishes according to the guidelines, 15 were awarded medals and will advance to the hot-food segment April 11 at Elgin Community College. Twenty-eight chefs were eligible to try out but two were unable to attend.
Reed is owner of Customized Culinary Solutions, Skokie and an adjunct faculty member in hospitality administration at College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill. He was divisional executive chef for Food For Thought Management, Lincolnwood, Ill. from 1999 to 2008, and before that worked for hotel and restaurant properties throughout the U.S. and abroad. He graduated cum laude with an associate degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I. in 1983, and earned a bachelor’s in hotel, restaurant and travel administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. in 1986. Reed is a member of American Culinary Federation (ACF) Windy City Professional Culinarians Inc.
Reed received a bronze medal at the tryout. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded based on a points system that represented a standard of: presentation and layout; glazing; composition and harmony of ingredients; correct preparation and craftsmanship; and serving methods and portions. Because competitors compete against a standard and not each other, there can be several competitors in each medal category.
The 14 other chefs receiving medals and selected to advance are as follows:
Gold
- 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, St. Louis Country Club, St. Louis; Chefs de Cuisine Association of St. Louis Inc.
- Adam Heath, CSC, Houston; executive sous chef, River Oaks Country Club, Houston; ACF National Chapter
- Joseph Leonardi, CEC, Johnston, R.I.; executive chef, Somerset Club, Boston; ACF Rhode Island Chapter
- Timothy Prefontaine, CEC, Fort Worth, Texas; executive chef, The Fort Worth Club, Fort Worth; ACF National Chapter
Silver
- Kevin Storm, CEC, CCA, AAC, Ballwin, Mo.; executive chef, Bellerive Country Club, St. Louis; Chefs de Cuisine Association of St. Louis Inc.
Bronze
- Kevin Doherty, CEC, CCA, Brighton, Mass.; regional executive chef, Delaware North Companies, Boston; ACF Epicurean Club of Boston
- George Gonzalez, Nashville, Tenn.; executive chef, Sodexo, Nashville; ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter
- Scott Green, CEC, Collins Center, N.Y.; executive chef, Delaware North Companies, Hamburg, N.Y.; ACF of Greater Buffalo New York
- Brian Joseph Moll, CC, Orlando, Fla.; sauté cook, Isleworth Country Club, Windermere, Fla.; ACF Central Florida Chapter
- Orlando Santos, CEPC, Pittsburgh; executive pastry chef, The Duquesne Club, Pittsburgh; ACF Pittsburgh Chapter
- Daryl Shular, CCC, Alpharetta, Ga.; corporate executive chef, Performance Foodservice–Milton’s, Oakwood, Ga.; ACF Greater Atlanta Chapter Inc.
- Rudy Smith, CEC, Naperville, Ill.; corporate chef, Unilever Foodsolutions, Lisle, Ill.; ACF National Chapter
- Eddie Tancredi, Blacklick, Ohio; sous chef, New Albany Country Club, New Albany, Ohio; ACF Columbus Chapter
“This was the beginning of the journey for Team USA, and I was thrilled with the level of excitement and professionalism from all of the competitors,” said ACF Culinary Team USA Manager Steve Jilleba, CMC, CCE, AAC, corporate executive chef at Unilever Foodsolutions, Lisle, Ill. “After seeing the foods that were displayed, I know that Team USA will have a great cold program in Luxemburg and at the ‘culinary Olympics’ in 2012. Now I am so excited to see what the finalists are going to produce in the hot kitchen in April.”
Before being chosen to attend the tryout, chef candidates had to pass a rigorous application review in which their application, résumé, biography, competition experience, work history and other qualifications were evaluated. Each chef had to display a high level of craftsmanship based on solid classical cooking principles and a variety of cooking disciplines incorporating current and modern trends in presentation, technique and taste.
ACF Culinary Team USA began competing in international competitions in 1956. The 1960 team captured the first world championship honor, and ACF Culinary Team USA repeated the distinction in 1980, 1984 and 1988 by taking the prestigious hot-food competition and establishing a new world record for the most consecutive gold-medal wins. In 2002, Team USA had the highest score in restaurant-style cooking among 32 nations, and in 2008, the regional team won the overall world championship title for the regional portion and the youth team placed fourth overall in the youth category. Since 1998, all ACF Culinary Team USA teams, including national, regional, pastry and student, have won 33 gold and 12 silver medals.
The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With more than 22,000 members spanning 230 chapters nationwide, ACF is the culinary leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship and programmatic accreditation. In addition, ACF operates the most comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States. ACF is home to ACF Culinary Team USA, the official representative for the United States in major international culinary competitions, and to the Chef & Child Foundation, founded in 1989 to promote proper nutrition in children and to combat childhood obesity. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.
