PLATING THE MENU FOR ACF

CULINARY PROFESSIONALS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sterling, VA – The menu for the annual dinner celebration of the American

Academy of Chefs, in Las Vegas, July 13, will be plated in graphic style – literally,

with each course inscribed on an elegant bone china charger by Fortessa designers.

Some 500 culinary professionals and their guests will take home the plate, as a

commemorative of the AAC 37^th annual induction dinner, a preliminary highlight of the

2008 national convention of the American Culinary Federation, July 14-17. 

Plating the menu, which has become a tradition of the annual dinner, is a way of

paying tribute to the chef’s culinary achievement and the art of today’s cuisine,

according to Thomas Macrina, CCE, CCA, AAC, chairman of the ACF honor society.

This year’s menu “covers a little bit of everything” that represents excellence and

diversity in the current culinary world, noted Chef Macrina.  “It’s a blend of a variety of

items, incorporating new and traditional ideas In food and cuisine artistry,” he said.

The commemorative plate selected by Chef Macrina - a 13.5-inch design from

the “Spirale” collection - reflects the menu, with a mix of traditional and contemporary

motifs.  Styled with a decorative, sculpted rim that spirals in a semi-circle around the

border, “It looks larger than it actually is, yet the bone china is fine and light, setting

off the food as on a platform, rather than a flat surface, for a beautiful presentation,”

Chef Macrina said. 

The seven-course dinner menu, created by Chef David Kellaway, CMC,

of the Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, ranges through delicacies, from lobster fricassee,

to tea-scented Arctic char, slow-roasted duroc belly and roasted rib of veal, with

an array  of vegetables, fruits and berries, fresh from the growers, and exotic sweets. 

Fortessa also is a sponsor of the Certified Master Chefs dinner, honoring

members of the culinary elite during the ACF convention, and will provide

Schott Zwiesel stemware for the event, scheduled on Tuesday, July 15.  Ten chef-

artisans – each preparing a signature dish, to be presented on separate tables – will

provide a moveable feast for colleagues to taste and enjoy with different wine pairings. 

For this dinner, the chefs selected the 18.2-oz. cabernet stem from the “Pure” Tritan®

crystal glass collection. 

Fortessa, the designer, developer and marketer of quality-crafted tableware and

accessories for the hospitality industry, as part of a long, close affiliation with the

culinary community, is a major sponsor of the ACF Olympic Culinary Team USA,

supplying member chefs with china for skilled presentation of its menus at world

competitions.  Currently, company designers are customizing china to help the team

showcase its expertise in the quadrennial competition at the International Culinary

Olympics in Germany, next October.