The American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA) recently honored four chefs with Awards of Excellence at the 2013 APPCA Personal Chef Summit at Stratford University in Baltimore.

The following received recognition from Candy Wallace, founder and executive director of the APPCA, at the conference’s awards luncheon on Oct. 12:

• 2013 Career/Life Balance: Javier Fuertes, chef/owner, Fitchburg, Mass.-based The Dinner Maker serving central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire
• 2013 Marketer of the Year: Jim Huff, chef/owner, Queens-based Traveling Culinary Artist serving metro New York and Nassau County
• 2013 Chefs of the Year: Dennis Nosko and Christine Robinson, co-owners, A Fresh Endeavor serving greater Boston

Following the ceremony, Wallace moderated a best-practices panel featuring the four award recipients, who shared their winning formulas for building successful personal-chef businesses with more than 50 conference attendees from throughout the nation.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) is accepting nominations for its 2014 “Restaurant Neighbor” and “Faces of Diversity” awards.

Entering its 16th year, the Foundation’s “Restaurant Neighbor Award,” founded in partnership with American Express, celebrates the outstanding charitable service performed by restaurant operators. Likewise, the “Faces of Diversity” award, sponsored by PepsiCo Foodservice and founded in 2007, is presented to members of the restaurant industry who, through hard work and perseverance, have achieved the American Dream.

Sullivan University’s Louisville campus and the National Center for Hospitality Studies congratulate associate department chair of culinary arts chef Rob Beighey and director of baking and pastry arts chef Derek Spendlove and team coach chef David Wheatley on their most recent victory at the American Culinary Federation Chefs Competition in Indianapolis.

$1,000 Grand Prize and $500 Runner-up prize, instructor incentives. Sponsored by the National Honey Board (NHB) in partnership with “The Gold Medal Classroom.”

• Contest period: Sept. 16 - Oct. 29, 2013. Deadline for all entries: Oct. 29, 2013.
• Entries must include one (1) small plate or dessert recipe AND on (1) beverage recipe. Both recipes must include honey.
• Contest entrants must be currently enrolled in a postsecondary culinary school/program in the 50 United States. Please include with entry: Name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, name of culinary school/program and name of referring culinary instructor.
• Entries must include at least one (1) digital photograph of the food and beverage pairing.
• Eligible entries will be evaluated by a panel of NHB judges on prominence and appropriate use of honey, taste, originality, appearance and practicality.
• Contest entries become property of NHB and may be used in marketing/public-relations activities. Entries must be the original work of the entrant, may not have won previous awards, may not have been published previously, and must not infringe third-party intellectual property or other rights.
• Email entries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Honey Recipe Contest in the subject line.

PRIZES

• One grand prize of $1,000 and one runner-up prize of $500.
• Referring instructor of each winner will receive a $250 prize and one (1) FREE registration to a 2014 CAFÉ conference or workshop.
• Winners will be notified on or around November 15, 2013, via phone and/or email. Winning students may be featured in a press release and/or on NHB social-media sites.

Peter Lehmuller, Ed.D., has been appointed dean of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University (effective July 1, 2013). He was most recently the dean of Academic Affairs at the university’s Charlotte campus and has relocated to the university’s flagship campus in Providence, R.I.

Lehmuller assumes his new position at a time when culinary-arts education is undergoing a profound assessment by both its peers and critics. The field is increasing in scope, requiring both experiential education and a more extensive college education to succeed. JWU is at the forefront of this turning point as it advances its academic programs to reflect the trends and demands of the industry.

During the past three decades, JWU’s culinary academic programs have evolved from an associate-degree program to include bachelor-of-science degrees in Culinary Nutrition, Culinary Arts and Foodservice Management. Currently, JWU culinary faculty and administration are developing a new curriculum expected to deepen a student’s knowledge required by the foodservice industry, as well as the fields of science and health. The university is also exploring post-graduate programs that will raise the level of a graduate’s value in the workplace.

In his role as dean of the College of Culinary Arts, Lehmuller says, “This is a phenomenal time to be in the hub of culinary academics. I am looking forward to the changing direction that JWU has set to achieve in the near future. We are at a crossroads where the demands of the industry and the betterment of society require graduates to have more complex set of skills and knowledge in order to succeed.”

Entries in the 2013 Discover Duck Recipe Contest prove great tastes come in small packages. Sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms, the annual contest challenged professional chefs and culinary students to produce an original appetizer or small plate recipe showcasing Maple Leaf Farms duck. Nearly 250 entries from across the country were submitted, competing for more than $15,000 in cash prizes.

Duck Doughnuts with an Apple Honey Sauce captured the Chef Category Grand Prize, earning Chef Geoff Kelty of Eddie Merlot’s Steakhouse in Columbus, Ohio, $5,000. Chef Keoni Chang, corporate chef and director of prepared foods for Foodland Supermarket in Honolulu, Hawaii, claimed the second-place prize of $3,000 with his Duck & Lemongrass Skewers with Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce recipe. Duck Liver Crème Brûlée took the $1,500 third prize for Chef Barry Greenberg, executive chef for the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Open Faced Duck Pastrami Sliders Deconstructed and Smoked Duck Arancini with Hazelnuts and Truffles (pictured) each captured $500 for Gary Ullman, commissary chef of Barnies Coffee Kitchen in Orlando and Eric Stein, RD, CCE, former chef-instructor at Kendall College, Chicago, respectively.