Certified Sous Chef™ Program Accredited by NCCA

ACF is pleased to announce that its Certified Sous Chef™ designation was recently accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) under the Institute of Credentialing Excellence. This is ACF's second certification program to receive accreditation from NCCA. The Certified Executive Chef® program was accredited in March 2011, and ACF is currently pursuing accreditation for its Certified Executive Pastry Chef® and Certified Culinary Educator® program. More

ACFEF Needs Your Vote to Share in $5 Million in Grant Funds

The American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) is one of only 2,500 charities nationwide nominated to participate in the 2012 Chase Community Giving program. Now we need your help! Facebook users and Chase customers have the opportunity to cast votes for their favorite charity from this list, and the 196 charities with the most votes will share $5 million in grants. Voting closes September 19, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Visit ACFEF on the Chase Community Giving website for more information.

Presenters Needed for 2013 ACF Regional Conferences

ACF strives to provide seminars and demonstrations on the latest culinary trends and topics at our four regional conferences. The presentations feature skilled, experienced chefs who are top in the industry. Chefs interested in presenting at a 2013 ACF Regional Conference need to submit a presentation proposal in accordance with the guidelines in the ACF 2013 Seminar and Demonstration Outline. Proposals should be emailed to educate@acfchefs.net by the Nov. 30 deadline.

All About Eggs

Perhaps the best example of the ever-evolving and sometimes contradictory world of culinary nutrition is the egg. The reputation around the egg has gone from good to bad to good, and now the most recent headlines have it revisiting the negative side. A study published in the journal Atherosclerosis suggests that egg consumption increases the risk of heart disease and may be as detrimental as smoking cigarettes. Learn more in September's "Culinary Nutrition News," All About Eggs, sponsored by French's Foodservice and provided through a partnership between ACFEF Chef & Child Foundation and Clemson University.

ACF Names Three Competition Judges

Congratulations to Anthony Haacke, CEC; Scott O'Farrell, CEC, CEPC, CCA; and Michael Vignapiano, CCE, ACE, AAC, on being named ACF-approved culinary competition judges. These chefs not only met the prerequisites, but had to be an apprentice judge at a minimum of five ACF-approved culinary competitions over two years, of which three of the competitions had to have categories F, K, or P/1. In addition to successfully completing a six-hour judges seminar. Learn more about becoming an ACF judge.