ORLANDO, Fla. — The 41st Annual Induction Dinner of the American Academy of Chefs (AAC) was a highlight of the 2012 ACF National Convention, which also featured a two-day tradeshow, culinary challenges, a Culinary Knowledge Bowl and product sampling.
Held at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando, a Hilton property, the AAC event demonstrated the increasingly strong ties between Canadian and American chefs, with the naming of Canadian Culinary Federation (CCFCC) president Donald Gyurkovits as an honorary AAC member.
Donald Gyurkovits is the corporate chef for International Herbs Ltd., Surry, B.C., and chairman of the Culinary Arts Foundation of B.C. He is known for saying, “being a chef is still the best job in the world.”
At the ACF general business session, ACF’s L. Edwin Brown was presented with an honorary membership in the CCFCC Honour Society by society founder Bruno Marti. Brown is a past executive director of ACF, past world secretary of the World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) for which he is a world ambassador, and is a world ambassador for the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). A frequent visitor to Canada, he most recently attended the CCFCC National Convention, held from June 3 to 6 in Halifax.
Another close friend of Canadian chefs, Michael Minor, was presented with the AAC’s 2012 Chair’s Medal by AAC national chair Stafford DeCambra, who is an honorary member of the CCFCC Honour Society. Minor is culinary ambassador for Custom Culinary, Lombard, Ill., and is respected for his many achievements, including winning the Grand Gold Medal in the 1984 IKA WAC’s Culinary Olympics. He is also Grand Commander of the Honorary Order of the Golden Toque, and has the distinction of being the only chef to have a foodservice degree program named after him. The Chef Michael L. Minor Master of Science Degree Program in Foodservice Business Management runs at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.
An annual Canadian standout in supporting ACF, Pickering, Ont.-based Canada Cutlery Inc., was an exhibitor at the tradeshow and is the sponsor of three workshops with topics focused on chef educators, including: EDS – Constructing the Perfect Course; EDS – Crafting Student Learning Outcomes; and EDS – Course Objectives That Meet Assessment Criteria. Canada Cutlery is a supplier of professional quality cutlery, kitchen tools and pastry items.
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photos courtesy of Michael Kocher
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