First Lady Michelle Obama will be joined by hundreds of chefs from across the US on Friday, for a big South Lawn kick-off event to launch the Chefs Move To Schools initiative, a new component of her Let's Move! campaign. The American Culinary Federation (ACF) has stepped up and offered 55 pros for the White House chef corps, and they hail from 23 states, DC, and Puerto Rico.Mrs. Obama's initiative will be run by USDA, and calls on chefs to adopt local schools to provide nutrition education and healthy cooking cafeteria action, for kids, parents, school administrators, faculty...and everyone else who has an impact on childrens' lives. The chefs from ACF represent a very wide range of experience, from those who work at restaurants and hotels, to the National Institutes of Health, to culinary arts instructors, to active military, to retired professionals.
ACF is one of the oldest professional culinary organizations in the nation, and according to president Michael Ty, the chefs were selected to participate in the South Lawn launch and pilot program because they'd previously donated much time to volunteer efforts, and/or worked with ACF's Chef & Child Foundation. This fits perfectly with Mrs. Obama's new initiative: The Foundation's mission is community-based nutrition education, and combating both hunger and obesity.“The American Culinary Federation is honored to have been chosen as one of the key organizations in this White House initiative,” Ty said, when announcing the chosen chefs.
From ACF, Colorado is sending in the most Toque Troops, with nine chefs, which is interesting, given the fact that as of 2008, Colorado was the only state America with a prevalence rate of obesity that was less than 20 percent.
*Read about the gang of Houston toques invited to the White House here.
The ACF chefs who will join their fellow chefs, the White House chefs, and the First Lady:
Arizona - 2
Joseph Kraft, CEC, CCA, AAC, Tucson, executive chef, Morrison Healthcare Foodservices, Tucson
Elizabeth Mikesell, CEC, AAC, Tucson, chef-instructor, Pima Community College, Tucson
California - 1
Devin Alexander, Manhattan Beach, owner, Devin Alexander, Inc., Manhattan Beach
Colorado - 9
Michael DeGiovanni, CEC, Wheat Ridge, executive chef, MorningStar Senior Living, Lakewood
Janet Etchart, CC, Lakewood, culinary instructor, Adams City High School, Commerce City
Jeremy Glas, CEC, Conifer, food and beverage director/executive chef, The Riviera Casino, Black Hawk
Robert Holloway, CEC, Broomfield, Colo., executive chef, McCoys, Denver
Robert Hudson, CEC, CCE, Colorado Springs, instructor, Pikes Peak Community College, Colorado Springs
Andrew Lubatty, CEC, Englewood, executive chef, The Avenue Grill, Denver
Jason Morse, CEC, Highlands Ranch, executive chef, Valley Country Club, Aurora
Joseph Piazza, CEC, Greenwood Village, executive chef, Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village
Michael Pizzuto, Arvada, retired
Delaware - 2
Paul O’Toole, CEC, AAC, Oxford, Pa., executive chef, Deerfield Golf and Tennis Club, Newark
Charlene Zinnel, CSC, CCE, Seaford, culinary-arts instructor, Dorchester Career and Technology Center, Cambridge, Md.
Florida - 5
Bryan Frick, CEC, AAC, Orlando, corporate executive chef, Nestlé Professional, Orlando
Chris Jones, Naples, executive chef, The Old Collier Golf Club, Naples
Joel Schaefer, CCC, Jacksonville, chef/president, Allergy Chefs Inc., Jacksonville
Mary Schaefer, CEPC, Jacksonville, program director, Culinard at Virginia College, Jacksonville
David Pantone, CEC, CEPC, CCE, AAC, Royal Palm Beach, dean of culinary education, Lincoln Culinary Institute, West Palm Beach
Georgia - 2
Marvis Hinson, Savannah, retired culinary educator
Heather Hurlbert, Atlanta, executive pastry chef, Cherokee Town and Country Club, Atlanta
Illinois - 3
Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, Oak Park, dean, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, Chicago, vice president, Laureate International Universities
Michael McGreal, CEC, CCE, Orland Park, culinary-arts department chair, Joliet Junior College, Joliet
Kyle Richardson, CEC, CCE, AAC, New Lenox, culinary-arts instructor, Joliet Junior College, Joliet
Kentucky - 1
Derek Spendlove, CEPC, CCE, AAC, Louisville, chair, baking and pastry arts program, Sullivan University, Louisville
Maryland - 3
Robert D. Hedetniemi, CEC, Bluffton, S.C., executive chef, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda
Susan Hendee, CCE, Ph.D., Baltimore, department chair, culinary arts, The Art Institute of Washington, Arlington, Va.
Charlene Zinnel, CSC, CCE, Seaford, Del., culinary-arts instructor, Dorchester Career and Technology Center, Cambridge
Massachusetts - 1
Kevin Crawley, CEC, Dedham, chef-instructor, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.
Michigan - 1
Andy Bacigalupo, Midland, culinary-arts instructor, Bay-Arenac ISD School District, Bay City
Minnesota - 1
John Thompson, CEC, South St. Paul, executive chef, Minneapolis Club, Minneapolis, Minn.
Missouri - 1
James Paul, CSC, CCE, St. Louis, director of operations, Billiken Dining Services, Saint Louis University, St. Louis
New Hampshire - 1
Damian Martineau, AAC, Bedford, owner, Damian’s On The River, New Boston
New York - 3
Gerard Molloy, CEPC, Seaford, facility director, Viking Culinary Center, Garden City
Michael Speranza, CEC, Victor, corporate chef, Custom Culinary Inc., Victor
Staff Sgt. Guy Winks, CCC, Clinton Corners, U.S. Army, Hyde Park
Nevada - 2
Thomas Trevethan, CEPC, North Las Vegas, pastry chef, Paris Las Vegas, Las Vegas
Christopher Johns, Las Vegas, executive chef, South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, Las Vegas
North Carolina - 3
Andrew McMillan, Winston-Salem, owner, The Stocked Pot Cooking School, Winston-Salem
Donald McMillan, CEC, AAC, Lewisville, chef-instructor, The Stocked Pot Cooking School, Winston-Salem
Dennie Streeter Veasey, CEC, CCE, Winston-Salem, culinary instructor, Triad Community Kitchen, Winston-Salem
Pennsylvania - 4
Maria Campbell, CEC, Media, chef-instructor, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Maureen Costello-Garfolo, CEC, CCE, Pittsburgh, chef-instructor, Le Cordon Bleu Institute of Culinary Arts Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Paul O’Toole, CEC, AAC, Oxford, executive chef, Deerfield Golf & Tennis Club, Newark, Del.
Brian Peffley, CEPC, CCE, pastry-arts instructor, Lebanon, Lebanon County Career and Technology Center, Lebanon
Puerto Rico - 1
Israel Calderon, CEC, Guaynabo, executive chef, ICM Global Cuisine, Carolina
Rhode Island - 1
Kevin Crawley, CEC, Dedham, Mass., chef-instructor, Johnson & Wales University, Providence
South Carolina - 2
Margaret Condrasky, CCE, Ed.D, RD, Piedmont, associate professor of food service, Clemson University, Clemson
Robert D. Hedetniemi, CEC, Bluffton, executive chef, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
Utah - 1
Shawn Talbott, Ph.D., Draper, nutritional biochemist and executive producer, “Killer at Large,” Draper. Ed. note: Check this out.
Virginia - 3
Susan Hendee, Baltimore, department chair, culinary arts, The Art Institute of Washington, Arlington
Monique Sorrell, Fort Lee, U.S. Army
Sgt. Maj. David Turcotte, CEC, AAC, Fort Lee, U.S. Army
Washington - 2
Brad Everett, Kirkland, chef, Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, Seattle
Christopher Plemmons, CEC, AAC, Bremerton, chef-instructor, Olympic College, Bremerton. Ed. note: An interview with the chef about his upcoming visit is here.
Washington, D.C. - 1
Daniel Traster, CCC, CCE, Washington, D.C., culinary director, Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show, Washington, D.C.
More information:
*For chefs interested in joining the Chefs Move to Schools campaign, there's a form to fill out here on USDA's website, and a form here for interested schools; pairings will be made at the local level. There's more information about the campaign here, on the Let's Move! website.
*The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report is available here [PDF].
*Photo by Obama Foodorama
