CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF
BY KAY ORDE
COMPETITION
QUOTE ME
“I know that winning and doing well
are important, and you want to keep
your eye on the prize, but remember,
it is so much more than just a title. It
is a growing and learning process.”
Darrin Aoyama
“Schedule your time wisely and plan
on spending many hours outside
regular practice sessions refining
your techniques.”
Bill Barber
“It doesn’t matter why you compete—
to learn, to win medals or to show
your skills—it all comes down to
being prepared and making the best-
tasting food you possibly can.”
Tom Recinella
“In the end, this competition is not
about winning or losing, but more
importantly, making the commitment
to master the cooking skills
necessary to work as a chef.”
Tom Schreiber
“. . . if you really want to be
good and excel at something,
especially in our craft,
you need to increase your
knowledge and capability in
that particular endeavor.”
Greg Skibinski
In 1992, R.L. Schreiber Inc., a family
owned/operated food manufacturing
company based in Pompano Beach, Fla.,
was looking for a way to give back to the
profession that used its food bases, spices,
seasoning blends and related products. The
ACF Student Team Championship was the
perfect match.
The new competition filled a need for
ACF’s youngest members, says Tom
Schreiber, HAAC, HHOF, company
president. It provided “a venue for young,
aspiring chefs to show their skill and
ability to work as a member of a team.
They must perform in an orderly, neat
and organized manner, characteristics so
vital for a successfully run kitchen.”
Former student team members can
attest to that. Darrin Aoyama, CEPC,
is executive pastry chef at River Oaks
Country Club in Houston. He first
got involved in student competition
as a member of the Los Angeles
Culinary Institute team that won the
national title in 1993. In 2000, he
was a member of ACF Culinary Team
USA, which represented the U.S. at the
2003 ACF Central Regional Conference, Houston
Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung
(IKA) in Erfurt, Germany.
“Competing as a student really kick-started
my entire competitive career—I guess you
can say I caught the competition bug,”
Aoyama says. “I really found that the
educational benefit and experience I gained
as a competitor was invaluable in helping to
develop my career.”
Joseph Leonardi, CEC, is executive chef
at Somerset Club, Boston, and a member
of 2012 ACF Culinary Team USA, which
will represent the U.S. at the IKA in Erfurt
in October. He was a member of the 1997
junior team from Johnson & Wales University
that represented the Northeast Region at the
national convention in Atlanta. “I learned who
I was, what I was able to do and the heights
I knew I could get to,” Leonardi says. “Keep
in mind that it’s not always about getting a
gold medal. It’s about what you display, the
feedback you get from the judges and what
you do with that feedback.”
Greg Skibinski, CEC, is executive chef at
Western Hills Country Club in Cincinnati and
an ACF-approved judge. He was a member
of the 1998 junior team from ACF Greater
Indianapolis Chapter that won the Student
Team Championship in Anaheim, Calif.
“I could probably write a novel about
what I learned from my first competition
team,” Skibinski says. “I took away vast
amounts of knowledge that I retained and
carried with me as positive enhancements
to my professional career.”
