2009 Chefs de Cuisine Association of Hawaii Honolulu
Tom Recinella, CEC, AAC, director of
the culinary program at State University
of New York (SUNY) at Delhi, has
coached many student teams over the
course of his career. “I became involved
as a coach in 1996, when I volunteered
to coach a team affiliated with Tri-County Chefs Association ACF.”
Recinella says.
“I have been coaching ever since,
and my teams have won many
state championships, five region
championships and, at long last, a
national championship. But I'll never
forget the first state championship we
won. That one was the sweetest of all.
“I became a far better technician and a
far better professional. Most important,
I met some of the best friends I have in
the world over the years that I have been
coaching student teams.”
Bill Barber, CEC, an educator at
Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa,
Calif., first took a student team to
competition as a coach in 1993 and has
been involved with the college’s teams
ever since. “Over the years, we have
won the regional conference competition
six or seven times and the national in
2005,” he says.
He has this advice for coaches: “Be
prepared to practice and be directly
involved with the practice sessions, and
give constant feedback to your team.
Listen to judges during the critique and
implement their comments with the team.
Your most stressful time will happen
during the competition, as you are not
allowed in the kitchen, and you have to sit
and watch—or pace back and forth and
watch.” He adds that one of coaching’s
rewards is to see team graduates go on to
become successful chefs in the industry.
2011 ACF Bay Area Chefs Association of Oregon
2010 ACF Chefs and Cooks of the Catskill Mountains
Sponsored by
A brand new logo,
voted the winner by
visitors to the Student
Team Championship
Facebook page,
celebrates the
competition's 20th
anniversary.
For Schreiber, those successful graduates
are proof that the company made the right
decision back in 1992 when it sponsored
the Student Team Championship to
support young members. “This has been
a rewarding commitment on our part,”
he says. “I look forward to the beginning
of each year, as I know that regional
conferences will be happening.”
