WORLD CHAMPION CHEF BESTOWED HONORARY
DOCTOR OF CULINARY ARTS
St. Augustine, Fla. – May 26, 2005 – Internationally renowned master chef Edward G. Leonard, CMC, AAC, was presented with an Honorary Doctor of Culinary Arts degree by Johnson & Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts on Saturday, May 21.
Chef Leonard is president of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the nation’s largest professional association of chefs and cooks, and vice president of the World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS). He is also executive chef at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. He has previously been recognized by Johnson & Wales as a Distinguished Visiting Chef, and is one of 58 Certified Master Chefs (CMC) in the United States.
As manager and captain of ACF Culinary Team USA 2004, he led the team to a gold medal win in hot cooking at the prestigious “Culinary Olympics” in Germany last year, and again is manager and team captain for 2008. Cooking with America’s Championship Team: Sizzling Recipes from Chef Edward G. Leonard, CMC, and the American Championship Culinary Team will be published in June and boasts more than 100 recipes from the chefs who make up ACF Culinary Team USA 2004.
Born in Maryland, Leonard’s passion for and interest in cooking came from his grandparents and his mother, who were natives of Italy. His first introduction to the culinary world was as an apprentice under Dominic Demaio, an Army master chef and former instructor at The Culinary Institute of America. Leonard was trained in Connecticut at Eli Whitney’s Culinary Program, and during this time he used his training to work as executive chef in some of Connecticut’s most prestigious restaurants, including Brass Button Ristorante in New Haven and Pine Orchard Country Club in Branford.
Leonard continued to build his career on various study tours in Europe, including the restaurant group Ceres in Paris, Gardner Merchant in London, and Van Hecke in Holland. In 1993, he became executive vice president of sales and marketing in the United States for Gardner Merchant, a major European foodservice company. From 1994 to 1999, he also served as the president/CEO of Food 1st Corporation, a diverse corporate catering company. Leonard was involved with the catering for major companies such as Duracell, Unilever and Timex.
“Chef Leonard is one of the profession’s outstanding chefs,” said Dawn Jantsch, ACF managing director. “His strong leadership both in and out of the kitchen has had a great impact on the culinary industry and countless culinarians.”
Johnson & Wales — America’s Career University® – was founded in 1914. It is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, food service, education, hospitality and technology. Preparing students for successful careers is the cornerstone of the University’s educational philosophy. A benchmark of the University has been its 27 consecutive year employment record - within 60 days of graduation, 98 percent of its students from the 50 states have jobs in their chosen career field. With an enrollment of more than 16,000 students, Johnson & Wales maintains campuses in Providence, R.I., Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va., North Miami, Fla., and Denver, Colo. In September 2004, it opened its newest campus in Charlotte, N.C. For more information about Johnson & Wales University, visit www.jwu.edu.
The American Culinary Federation is the nation's largest organization of professional cooks. Founded in 1929, ACF establishes and upholds the highest standards of cooking and enhances the culinary profession internationally through education, certification and a fraternal bond of respect and integrity. For more information on ACF, visit www.acfchefs.org or call (800) 624-9548.
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Lisa Alessandro, APR
Director of Public Relations
American Culinary Federation
180 Center Place Way
St.Augustine, FL 32095
(800)624-9458, ext. 103
Fax: (904) 825-4758
www.acfchefs.org
Chef2Chef News Desk