2011 ACF WESTERN REGION
AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to the
following winners from the
2011 ACF Western Regional
Conference held at Talking
Stick Resort, Scottsdale, Ariz.,
April 29-May 2. The recipients
will compete for national titles
against their winning regional
counterparts at the 2011 ACF
National Convention in Dallas,
July 22-26.
CHEF OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions
Todd Leonard, CEC
Executive Chef
Blue Lemon
American Fork, Utah
ACF Beehive Chefs Chapter Inc.
PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Splenda®
Paul John Padua
Executive Pastry Chef
The Ahwahnee Hotel
Yosemite National Park, Calif.
Delaware North Companies Parks and
Resorts Inc.
CHEF EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
Bill Sy, CEC, AAC
Academic Director
The International Culinary School at The Art
Institute of Tucson
Tucson, Ariz.
ACF Chefs Association of Southern Arizona
Tucson
HERMANN G. RUSCH CHEF’S
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Leif Benson, CEC, AAC
Retired
Welches, Ore.
ACF Chefs de Cuisine Society of Oregon
CHEF PROFESSIONALISM AWARD
Sponsored by Minor’s®
Anthony Danna, CEC, AAC
Executive Chef
Edgewood Downs Retirement
Beaverton, Ore.
ACF Chefs de Cuisine Society of Oregon
STUDENT CHEF OF THE YEAR
Sponsored by Custom Culinary, Inc.
Ghil Medina
Services Journeyman
U.S. Air Force
Hampton, Va.
Old Dominion ACF Chapter
BARON H. GALAND CULINARY
KNOWLEDGE BOWL
Sponsored by American Technical Publishers
ACF Pikes Peak Chapter Inc.
Liberty Blechman, Katherine Conlon, Robin
Flynn, Patrick Patterson, Debra Schmidt;
Heidi Block and Leslie Bender, coaches
STUDENT TEAM REGIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIP
Sponsored by R.L. Schreiber, Inc.
ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon
Oregon Coast Culinary Institute
Justin Clark, Mallory Crocker, Diana Jeffs,
Reilly Meehan, Kimberly Ream; Randy
Torres, CEC, coach
The award recipients listed below were
recognized for their outstanding
contributions and goodwill.
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR
ACF Pikes Peak Chapter Inc.
CHAPTER ACHIEVEMENT
AWARDS
ACF Pikes Peak Chapter Inc.
ACF Southern California Inland Empire
Chefs & Cooks Association
ACF PRESIDENT’S MEDALLIONS
Franz Kubak, CEC, assistant professor/chef-
instructor, Utah Valley University, Orem,
Utah; ACF Beehive Chefs Chapter Inc.
Tony Parker, CEC, general manager,
Eurest Dining Services, Kent, Wash.; ACF
Washington State Chefs Association
James Wolters, CEC, AAC, executive chef,
Manito Country Club, Spokane, Wash.; ACF
Chefs de Cuisine of the Inland Northwest
CUTTING EDGE AWARDS
Donald Dickinson, CEC, CCA, AAC,
culinary division director, Institute of
Technology, Citrus Heights, Calif.; ACF
California Capital Chefs Association
Walter Hawley, CEC, corporate executive
chef, Nestlé Professional, Englewood,
Colo.; ACF Colorado Chefs Association
Christopher Plemmons, CEC, AAC,
chef-instructor, Culinary Arts Institute,
Olympic College, Bremerton, Wash.; ACF
Washington State Chefs Association
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHEFS
The American Academy of Chefs gave a $1,000 grant to the Western Region Student Team Regional Champion, ACF Bay Area Chefs
Association of Oregon/Oregon Coast Culinary Institute, to assist the team with expenses to travel to the national competition at the 2011
ACF National Convention in Dallas, July 22-26.
