CAFÉ and Sysco Corporation Announce 2015 Educators of the Year
08 July 2015
In the award program’s inaugural year, two secondary and two postsecondary educators earned recognition for distinction in training professional cooks of tomorrow at the 11th-annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference in June.
Sysco, the world’s leading foodservice distributor, recognized four foodservice educators in the 2015 CAFÉ/Sysco Corporation Educator of the Year Awards at the 11th-annual Leadership Conference of the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ), June 18 in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
“In our first year of supporting this new annual award that acknowledges the tremendous industry contributions of foodservice instructors throughout the United States, we were introduced to many genuinely gifted teachers,” says Neil Doherty, CEC, Sysco’s senior director of culinary development.
“All of them submitted amazing endorsements from their administrators, program and industry colleagues and former and current students—making the selection of only two award recipients and two runners-up from both high-school and college-level training programs extremely difficult. In the end, thanks to their extraordinary career accomplishments, four individuals stood out.” They are:
Postsecondary Educator of the Year—Annmarie K. Chelius, CHE, CCE, CWPC, chef-instructor, Atlantic Cape Community College Academy of Culinary Arts, Mays Landing, N.J.
Runner-up, Postsecondary category—Adam Weiner, CFSE, director of culinary training, JobTrain, Menlo Park, Calif.
Secondary Educator of the Year—Faith Jennetta, CEPC, coordinator and baking instructor, Culinary, Pastry Arts & Hospitality Management, Technology Center of DuPage, Addison, Ill.
Runner-up, Secondary category—Matthew Williams, culinary-arts team leader, Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School, Upton, Mass.
Each category’s top recipient received a $1,500 grant. All four recipients received a commemorative plaque from Sysco Corporation and complimentary full registration to the 2015 CAFÉ Leadership Conference at Niagara Falls Culinary Institute in Niagara Falls, N.Y., June 18-20.
According to Doherty, all four award recipients are trained chefs with commercial work experience prior to teaching, and all are distinguished by their respective professional certifications and industry honors.
“Sysco is proud to support this prestigious award that honors those who train the professionals who will shape future American foodways,” Doherty says. “They are the foodservice industry’s unsung heroes, as they wield immense power to ensure that the foods we enjoy away from home are of high quality and prepared expertly and safely.
“Additionally, by passing along their knowledge and skills, foodservice educators, via those they train, spur innovation and interest on featured menus in every industry segment—from catering, healthcare and higher education to fast casual, casual upscale and fine dining, as well as in the realms of nutrition and R&D. We laud our 2015 honorees, and look forward to discovering and paying tribute to more industry change-makers with our 2016 awards.”
Deadline to apply for 2016 CAFÉ/Sysco Corporation Educator of the Year Awards is April 1, 2016 (postmarked). Awards will be presented at the 12th-annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference at Kendall College in Chicago next June. Complete application info will post at www.CafeMeetingPlace.comin upcoming months.
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. The company operates 194 distribution facilities serving approximately 425,000 customers. For fiscal year 2014 that ended June 28, 2014, Houston-based Sysco generated sales of more than $46 billion. Connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporationand Twitter at www.twitter.com/Sysco. For more info, visit www.Sysco.com.
Photo:2015 CAFÉ/Sysco Corporation Educators of the Year were honored June 18 at Niagara Falls Culinary Institute. Pictured (l. to r.): Matthew Williams, Neil Doherty, Faith Jennetta, Annmarie K. Chelius, Adam Weiner.