The National Culinary Review - July/August 2010

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC

California DREAMIN'

There is still time to make plans to attend the 2010 ACF National Convention at the Anaheim Marriott in Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 2-5. Register online at www.acfchefs.org by midnight July 11, or register on-site at the convention.

We kick off the convention July 31 with Chef Outreach to the Community, a Chef & Child service day. ACF volunteers will make a difference by teaching nutrition to low-income families at Hermosa Village. The event begins at 9 a.m. with breakfast. Participants will be bused to Hermosa Village, where we plan to conduct nutrition activities geared toward kids for approximately 100 community residents. To participate, register by July 15 at www.acfchefs.org or with Michelle Whitfield at (904) 484-0202.

ACF members have always been involved with ensuring that children get good nutrition and that their parents receive information about healthy lifestyles for families. Our involvement with the Chefs Move to Schools program is taking that involvement a step further. We can all be proud of the 60 ACF members who were among the 600-plus chefs at the White House June 4 to kick off the latest initiative in Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity. Those ACF members will be paired with schools in their communities, and work with schools staffs and parents to help educate students about food and nutrition. With a pilot launch of the program over the summer, and volunteers beginning to work in schools in the fall, ACF members will be among those helping to take the Chefs Move to Schools initiative across the U.S.

During my acceptance speech as your new
national president last year, I promised to
resurrect the ACF National Championship
that was started in 1992 and continued until
1995. The guidelines set by past ACF national
president Keith Keogh, CEC, AAC, stated
that the national president would designate
a competition for members that would bring
recognition to an area of the culinary arts
that the president deemed worthy. In 1994,
in my first term as national president, I chose
a culinary competition that would put the
spotlight on chefs who had not previously
been active in competition. I paired ACF with
one of our sister organizations, the American
School Food Service Association, to place two
individuals in competition who were working to
promote healthy lunches in school foodservice.

This year, the ACF National Championship will feature the Freedom Chef Challenge. This was not my idea, but, in fact, was the brainchild of David Prows, CEC, AAC, who first brought the competition to the 2008 Western Regional Conference in Salt Lake City to promote our military chefs. I’ve always felt that military chefs deserve more recognition in the culinary profession, and this is why I decided, early in my campaign, that, if elected, I would have the Freedom Chef Challenge at our national convention. I urge everyone who is attending to support this competition with their presence. Some of the men and women who place their lives at risk for the safety of our country are also fine chefs, and we should gather together on Tuesday afternoon at the Anaheim Convention Center to cheer them on. As I look toward next year, I hope the ACF National Championship will support another segment of our industry that makes a difference.

Our final day of this year’s convention, Thursday, is jampacked, and we need all of you there.

At 7 a.m., there is a sit-down breakfast. It is imperative that we are seated promptly, because this will also be the venue for our General Session. Then, we gather for the Chef Professionalism Lunch and meet the four regional finalists for this prestigious award. Finally, the pièce de résistance is the President’s Grand Ball, where our competition winners will be announced and receive their awards.

Chefs from ACF Syracuse New York Chapter met with Michael Ty at a combined chapter meeting hosted by ACF Professional Chefs/Cooks Association of Rochester in May. Left to right: John Melnyczuk, CCC, and Brian Shore, CEC, board of directors; Mary Ann Kiernan, CCC, vice president;

Ty; Christopher Cesta, CEC, treasurer; and Gerald "Jerry" Bolton, president.

What to wear in Anaheim in August, where it’s likely to be hot and humid? A chef jacket and dark pants or business-casual attire is requested for most events. For the evening events, casual attire is recommended, except for the AAC Dinner and President’s Grand Ball, at which black tie is requested but business attire is acceptable. Additionally, please respect the hotel’s culinary staff when going to bars and lounges by not wearing your chef jacket.