Cincinnati area chefs dominate culinary competition | News

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - The American Culinary Federation is coming up on its annual national competition for America's best chefs, and three of the four candidates for the Northeast Region Chef of the Year are from the Cincinnati area.  The winner goes on to national competition.

Here are details on the contestants:

February 8, 2011-Four of the best professional chefs in the Northeast will step out of their kitchens and onto the competition floor as they vie for the title of American Culinary Federation (ACF) Northeast Region Chef of the Year. The competition, sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions, takes place at Columbus State Community College (550 East Spring St., Columbus, OH 43215) Tuesday, March 22, during the 2011 ACF Northeast Regional Conference, held March 20-23 at the Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel. The winner will advance to the national competition in Dallas in July.

The Northeast Region Chef of the Year award recognizes an outstanding culinarian who works and cooks in a full-service dining facility. This person demonstrates the highest standard of culinary skills, advances the cuisine of America and gives back to the profession through the development of students and apprentices. At the competition, chefs will have 15 minutes to set up, 60 minutes to fabricate and cook four portions of their dish, 10 minutes to plate the dish and 15 minutes to clean up. Their dish must incorporate a whole bone-in duck. A panel of judges will select the winner based on cooking skills, taste and professionalism. The winner will be announced at the Regional Awards Gala, Wednesday, March 23. Here are the 2011 candidates:

Ohio

Todd Kelly of Batavia, Ohio, is executive chef/director of food and beverage at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Cincinnati, where he has worked since 2006. He oversees all culinary operations-Orchids at Palm Court, The Grille at Palm Court, The Bar at Palm Court, in-room dining, and banquet and wedding menus-and a staff of 65. Kelly has spent more than a decade in the culinary industry, working in several restaurants in North Carolina and California, including Ember Grille at The Westin, Charlotte, N.C.; Peter James Townhouse, Charlotte; Rubicon, San Francisco; and Little City Italian Restaurant, San Francisco. His cuisine has won many awards, including one of Zagat's 2011 top-rated restaurants in Cincinnati, one of the top 50 restaurants in the U.S. in 2010 by Open Table, the No. 1 Restaurant in City in 2009 and 2010, according to Cincinnati Magazine, and a five-star rating in 2009 by The Cincinnati Enquirer. He is a member of ACF Greater Cincinnati Chapter.

Christopher Ropp, CEC, of Cincinnati, is executive chef at Kenwood Country Club, Cincinnati, and an adjunct professor at Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical College. Prior to joining the staff at Kenwood Country Club in 2006, he worked at numerous Cincinnati restaurants, including Parkers Blue Ash Grill, Blue Ash, Ohio, and The Bankers Club, Petersen's Downtown and Longworth's in Cincinnati. He holds an associate degree in applied business in culinary arts from Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. Ropp has won numerous awards throughout his career, including 2010 Department of the Year award from Kenwood Country Club, a 2009 ACF Achievement of Excellence Award, the club's 2007 Manager of the Year Award and ClubCorp of America's 2004 Food and Beverage Team Excellence Award. Ropp served in the U.S. Army and Ohio Army National Guard for more than a decade. He is a member of Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, Cincinnati Bailliage, Les Amis d'Escoffier Society of Cincinnati and ACF Greater Cincinnati Chapter.

Greg Skibinski, CEC, of Cincinnati, is executive chef at Western Hills Country Club, Cincinnati, where he has worked since 2005. He earned an associate of applied science degree in culinary arts/hospitality administration from Ivy Tech Community College, Indianapolis, and completed two years of coursework in Columbus State Community College's apprenticeship program. Before joining the staff at Western Hills, he worked as executive chef at Coldstream Country Club, Chester's Road House and Sturkey's Restaurant in Cincinnati. An avid competitor, he has amassed more than 20 gold medals, two silver medals and two bronze medals in national and international competitions. He has been a member of the Midwest "culinary Olympics" team since 2000. In 2008, he earned a bronze medal at the IKA "culinary Olympics" in Erfurt, Germany. In 2004, he took home a gold medal and Best in Show at Hotelympia in London. He is a member of ACF Greater Cincinnati Chapter, which named him 2004 Chef of the Year and 2003 Coach of the Year.

Pennsylvania

Walter Staib of Bryn Mawr, Pa., president/owner of City Tavern Restaurant/Concepts by Staib, Ltd., Philadelphia, began his culinary experience in 1960 as an apprentice in Germany. After working at some of the most luxurious hotels and resorts in Germany and Switzerland, he came to America in 1969 to work for The Mid-America Club in Chicago. His career has taken him throughout the world, working for Hyatt Regency in the U.S., Hotel Quatro Rodas in São Paulo, Brazil, Dunfey Hotels (later OMNI Hotels), and Davre's, owned by ARA Leisure Services, Inc., before creating Concepts By Staib, Ltd. in 1989, a hospitality consulting firm with an emphasis on turnkey-restaurant concept development, which, in the past 10 years, has successfully conceptualized and implemented more than 300 restaurants worldwide. He has received numerous awards throughout his 50-year career. Staib has authored five books and currently hosts a two-time Emmy award-winning PBS original show, "A Taste of History." He is a member of ACF Philadelphia Chapter.


Hundreds of chefs, cooks and foodservice professionals will attend this year's culinary conference in Columbus. There will be educational seminars, culinary demos, networking and social functions, culinary competitions, meal events and more. For information, or to register to attend, visit www.acfchefs.org/events or call (800) 624-9458.

Sponsors of the 2011 ACF Northeast Regional Conference and ACF national award sponsors are: American Lamb Board; American Technical Publishers; Cabot Creamery Cooperative; Canada Cutlery Inc.; Cargill Salt; The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Inc.; Custom Culinary, Inc.; Ecolab; Gordon Food Services; Koch Foods, Inc.; Mars Foodservice; McCormick For Chefs; MenuMax; MINOR'S®; NEWCHEF Fashion Inc.; R.L. Schreiber, Inc.; RC Fine Foods; Riviana Foods Inc.; S&D Coffee; Splenda®; Tyson Food Service; Unilever Foodsolutions; Vitamix Corp.; and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

About the American Culinary Federation

The American Culinary Federation, Inc., established in 1929, is the premier professional organization for culinarians in North America. With more than 20,000 members spanning 225 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. 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.

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