Professional kitchens across the world are heating up in preparation for the 2014 Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup, Nov. 22-26, in Luxembourg. American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Culinary Team USA will be competing against 29 other countries in the internationally recognized competition.
As the official representative team for the U.S in major international culinary competitions, ACF Culinary Team USA will join the competition along with chef teams and individual cooks and confectioners from five continents expected to compete in various competitions at the event. The team will also compete at the American Culinary Classic in Orlando, Florida, July 30-Aug. 3, 2015, and the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) in Erfurt, Germany, October 2016. ACF Culinary Team USA has been competing in the Culinary World Cup since 1982.
The Culinary World Cup, established in 1972, is held every four years during Expogast, an international exhibition of culinary arts products, education and technology. The event will take place at the LUXEXPO Exhibition and Conference Center, Luxembourg, and is expected to be attended by more than 44,000 industry professionals. To learn more about the event, visit www.expogast.lu.
“We are excited and grateful for the chance to compete in The Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup next month,” said Joseph Leonardi, CEC, ACF Culinary Team USA manager. “We look forward to presenting American cuisine to this international audience and representing the dedication and creativity U.S. chefs have for their craft to the culinary industry across the world.”
The team has been practicing since October 2013 for the competition. There they will be challenged to prepare a culinary and pastry arts program to include hot and cold finger food, a buffet platter, a vegetarian three-course menu with dessert and a five-course menu with dessert. The team will also compete in a hot-food competition where they will create a three-course meal for 110 people.
The chefs competing are:
- Joseph Albertelli, executive chef, Westchester Country Club, Rye, New York
- George Castaneda, CEC, executive chef, Sodexo Corporate Services at Healthways, Franklin, Tennessee
- Shawn Culp, CEC, culinary arts instructor, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Pennsylvania
- Ben Grupe, executive chef, Meadowbrook Country Club, Ballwin, Missouri
- Aaron Haga, CEC, chef tournant, The Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Jason Hall, CMC, executive chef, Hammock Dunes Club, Palm Coast, Florida
- Alison Murphy, pastry chef, Houston Country Club, Houston
- Matthew Seasock, CEC, executive sous chef, The Fort Worth Club, Fort Worth, Texas
- Corey Siegel, sous chef, The Vintage Club, Indian Wells, California
Sponsors for ACF Culinary Team USA are Certified Piedmontese, College of DuPage, NEWCHEF Fashion Inc., Unilever Food Solutions, US Foods and Wayne Farms® Chef’s Craft.
ACF Culinary Team USA began competing in international competitions in 1956 at the Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA) held in Frankfurt, Germany, until 2004. The 1960 team captured the first world championship honor at the IKA and 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, ACF Culinary Team USA had the highest score in restaurant-style cooking among 32 nations at the IKA, and in 2008, the regional team won the overall world championship title in the regional category. In 2010, ACF Culinary Team USA placed third overall in the Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg. At the last IKA in 2012, ACF Culinary National Team USA won a silver medal in cold-food presentation—only one gold medal was awarded—and a silver medal in the hot-food kitchen, placing sixth overall.
About the American Culinary Federation
The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With more than 20,000 members spanning 200 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, with the Certified Executive Chef®, Certified Sous Chef® and Certified Executive Pastry Chef® designations the only culinary credentials accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. 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. Find ACF on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ACFChefs and on Twitter @ACFChefs.
