PROVIDENCE — City resident Geoffrey Lanez, is one of four young cooks from across the Northeast preparing to battle for the title of 2014 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Northeast Region Student Chef of the Year.
The competition takes place at Johnson & Wales University, Providence during the 2014 ACF Northeast Regional Conference held at The Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings, Warwick, April 11-14. The student chef contest takes place on April 12.
Mr. Lanez, of Rumford, is a management development participant at Johnson & Wales. He is pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at JWU. Last year, Mr. Lanez was captain of his school’s competition team, which received a silver medal at the 2013 ACF National Student Team Championship.
In 2013, he was awarded Student Chef of the Year by ACF Rhode Island Chapter. The year before, Mr. Lanez was chosen as the apprentice for ACF Culinary Team USA at the 2012 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung, commonly referred to as the “culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany. Mr. Lanez is currently a part-time cook at Somerset Club in Boston and hopes to become a certified master chef, compete at the “culinary Olympics” and earn the title of USA’s Chef of the Year.
The four cooks are competing for a chance to represent the ACF Northeast region in the national competition held July 25-29 in Kansas City, Mo., during ACF’s national convention. At the regional competition, competitors will prepare two portions of a main dish that incorporates a whole bone-in chicken for a panel of judges in 1 hour, 40 minutes. The regional winner receives bragging rights, travel expenses and a complimentary registration to the national competition. The national winner receives $1,000 and the title of 2014 ACF Student Chef of the Year.
Sponsored by Custom Culinary, Inc., the ACF Student Chef of the Year Award recognizes an up-and-coming student who possesses a high degree of professionalism, culinary skill and passion for culinary arts.