Pastry Chefs To Battle For The Title Of ACF Southeast Region Pastry Chef Of The Year

St. Augustine, Fla. —Three pastry chefs will take a shot at baking their way to the top by competing for the title of 2014 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Southeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year. The competition will take place at Trident Technical College, North Charleston, S.C., April 27, during the 2014 ACF Southeast Regional Conference held in North Charleston, April 26–29.

The three chefs are competing for the opportunity to represent the ACF Southeast region in the national competition held in Kansas City, Mo., July 25–29. The regional winner receives bragging rights, travel expenses and a complimentary registration to the national competition. The national winner receives $5,000 and the title of ACF Pastry Chef of the Year. At the regional competition, competitors will prepare four portions of a dessert for judges in 1 hour, 40 minutes.

The ACF Pastry Chef of the Year award, sponsored by Plugrá® European-Style Butter, recognizes a pastry chef who displays a passion for the craft, has an accomplished reputation in the pastry field and has helped educate others by sharing skills and knowledge.

Leslie Eckert, CEPC, CCE, MBA

Leslie Eckert, CEPC®, CCE®, MBA, of Clearwater, Fla., has been a culinary instructor at The Art Institute of Tampa, Tampa, Fla., since 2007. Eckert received a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in hospitality management from Keller School of Management, online; a bachelor’s degree in culinary management from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh; and an associate degree in culinary arts from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Eckert is also pastry chef and owner of Simply Decadent, Clearwater, a dessert catering company she opened in 2002. She is involved in numerous culinary charities and frequently engages her students in the local community. In 2013, Eckert was named ACF Chef Educator of the Year. She is a member of ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Inc.

Robin Richardson, CPC

Robin Richardson, CPC®, of Louisville, Ky., is executive pastry chef and general manager at The Bakery at Sullivan University, Louisville. She received an associate degree in baking and pastry arts from Sullivan University, in 2009. Her experience includes pastry chef and cake decorator at Desserts by Helen, Louisville, and assistant chef instructor at Sullivan University. Richardson has served as a baking and pastry resource for media in local publications and in The National Culinary Review. She takes pride in mentoring The Bakery interns from Sullivan University, and was involved in facilitating on-site events for the 2013 ACF Southeast Regional Conference in Louisville. Richardson is a member of ACF Kentucky Chapter.

Sandra Canella-Rawls

Sandra Canella-Rawls of Miami Beach, Fla., is a chef instructor at Miami Culinary Institute, Miami. She received an associate degree in baking and pastry arts from Johnson & Wales University, North Miami, Fla., in 1998. Originally from Brazil, Canella-Rawls has worked both in her home country and in the United States. Her experience includes baking and pastry instructor at Senac, Sao Paulo; baking and pastry instructor at the International Culinary Center, Campbell, Calif.; and adjunct baking and pastry instructor at San Ignacio College, Miami. Canella-Rawls has published Pao: Arte e Ciência, Senac, 2004, a book about bread and dough, and is working on her second book. She is a member of Fort Lauderdale ACF, Inc.

ACF’s regional conference will feature educational seminars, culinary demos, networking and social functions, culinary competitions, meal events and more for chefs, foodservice professionals and students. For information, visit www.acfchefs.org/events or call (800) 624-9458. Follow conference happenings on Twitter @ACFChefs or #ACFSE or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ACFChefs.

Regional and national sponsors of the 2014 ACF event series are: Alabama Gulf Seafood; Allen Brothers; American Technical Publishers; Barilla Foodservice; Barry Callebaut; BelGioioso Cheese, Inc.; California Avocado Commission; Campbell’s Culinary & Baking Institute; Central Region State Beef Councils; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Ecolab®; Evo, Inc.; Fabbri USA 1905, LLC; Fortune Fish Company; Ghirardelli Chocolate Company; Gordon Food Service®; Idaho® Potato Commission; J.R. Simplot Company; JTM Food Group; Johnson & Wales University; Jones Dairy Farm; Kern Meat Co., Inc.; Lactalis Foodservice; Lang Manufacturing Company; Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc.; Mercer Cutlery; MINOR’S®; Monini North America, Inc.; Mooney Farms; Moore Food Distribution; National Pasteurized Eggs, Inc.; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative; Ole Tyme Produce Inc.; Par-Way Tryson, makers of Vegalene; Performance Foodservice; Plugrá® European-Style Butter; Publix Super Markets; RC Fine Foods; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; Rosenthal Sambonet USA Ltd; S&D Coffee; Saint Louis Chefs de Cuisine Education Foundation; Sartori Company; Sysco®; The Beef Checkoff; Tyson Food Service; Unilever Food Solutions; US Foods; Valrhona; Villeroy & Boch; Vitamix® Corporation; Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
About the American Culinary Federation

The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), established in 1929, is the standard of excellence for chefs in North America. With nearly 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.

Source: The American Culinary Federation, Inc.