Art Institutes Culinary Students Go for the Gold With Tools of Their Trade

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Great chefs -- like great athletes -- love to compete on a world stage. From the Culinary Olympics and the American Culinary Federation (ACF) competitions to food-industry-sponsored contests, Art Institutes students and faculty brought home the gold in 2005, sauteing and searing their way to more than 50 sizzling regional, national and international culinary awards.

The Art Institutes culinary arts training is as rigorous as many athletes, and the outcomes are equally glorious and life-altering. So as the medal count begins at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, The 21 Art Institutes culinary arts programs across North America honor the achievements of their students and faculty by recounting their 2005 successes:

  The Art Institutes
   - The Art Institutes National Culinary Team consisting of 11 Chef
     Directors and faculty from six Art Institutes schools including
     locations in, Atlanta, GA, Los Angeles, CA, Charlotte, NC, Dallas, TX,
     Houston, TX and Phoenix, AZ, recently received 10 International Gold
     medals and a Certificate of International Culinary Art Master.  These
     medals were awarded by the China Hospitality Association and
     International Hotel & Restaurant Association earned at the 6th China
     Food Festival & 19th Guangzhou(International) Food Festival.

  The Art Institute of Atlanta
   - Culinary arts students and faculty swept the SYSCO Atlanta ACF Culinary
     Salon.  Student Michael Spoon won first place in the Student Skills
     Competition in the vegetable knife cuts category.  Faculty member Daryl
     Shular, won gold in the seafood category, and silver in the chicken
     category.
   - Culinary student Octavius Chatman won the Ecolab Scholarship through
     the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation.

  The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles
   - Student Juan Vasquez, was named the 2005 "Chef Splendido," winner of
     the Splenda(R) No Calorie Sweetener National Dessert Challenge.
   - Student Juan Vasquez also received the Brillat Savarin Young
     Professional Award
   - Student Debra MacLennan won the main dish category in the Office of
     Champagne, USA Champagne Pairing Contest.

  The Art Institute of California - San Diego
   - Chau Pham, a culinary student, was the grand-prize winner in the Almond
     Board of California "What's the Dish" Recipe Contest, competing against
     students at six other Art Institutes schools.
   - Several students received awards in the California State ACF Class K
     Competition.  Competing against many professional chefs the student
     winners were: Justin Woodward with a gold medal; Cheng-Lun (James)
     Hseih with a silver medal; Colin Wehner with a bronze medal and Chau M.
     Pham with a certificate of excellence.

  The Art Institute of Charlotte
   - Culinary arts students, Ashley Wilkes and Donnie Golden, were among 20
     culinary students nationwide who won scholarships to attend the annual
     Share Our Strength Conference of Leaders in Washington, DC.

  The Art Institute of Colorado
   - Katherine Mudd, a culinary student at The Art Institute of Colorado
     took first prize for her Grapefruit and Avocado Rice Salad with Grilled
     Chicken in the USA Rice Federation's Rice Way to Cook competition.

  The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
   - The school's Student Culinary Team won the Florida State ACF
     Championship
   - Led by Master Chef Klaus Friedenreich, the school received the ACF
     Achievement of Excellence Award for its student-run restaurant, The
     Chef's Palette. This is the first student-run restaurant to be awarded
     this honor.

  The Art Institute of Houston
   - The school's Baking Club won one gold, three silver and one bronze
     medal at its regional ACF event.

  The Culinary Institute of Las Vegas, a division of The Art Institute of
  Las Vegas
   - Master Chef Raimund Hofmeister has been named the Educator of the Year
     for the western region of the ACF.

  The Art Institutes International Minnesota
   - Chef Amy Carter of The Art Institutes International Minnesota was named
     an ACF Culinary Educator of the Year.
   - Two culinary students from the school took top honors for their cake
     decorating talents at the Tulsa Sugar Art Show.

  The Art Institute of New York City
   - The Art Institute of New York City Junior Culinary Team scored 10
     medals, including one silver and nine bronze, at a regional ACF event.
   - Senior lead instructor Chef Frank Constantino, was named an ACF
     Culinary Educator of the Year.
   - Culinary student Jana Mihokava was named ACF Student Culinarian of the
     Year by the ACF Big Apple Chapter.
   - The culinary team, led by team captain Constantino, won five gold
     medals and one silver medal at the Salon of Culinary Arts at the 11th
     annual Winterfest 2006, sanctioned by the ACF.

  The Art Institute Online
   - Culinary management student Mark Bole garnered top honors in the entree
     category with his Asian Grilled Squab with Vegetable Slaw in the
     prestigious Chef's Recipe Contest sponsored annually by the Peanut
     Advisory Board.

  The Art Institute of Philadelphia
   - Culinary students coached by faculty member Chef John Olsen won the
     bronze medal at the ACF Pennsylvania State Student Team Championship.
   - Culinary Arts Academic Director William Tillinghast was accepted into
     the World Society of Master Chefs as a Full Member.

  The Art Institute of Phoenix
   - The school's Culinary Competition Team won first place at the ACF State
     Culinary Competition.
   - The same Culinary Competition Team went on to compete in the ACF
     Western Regional Culinary Competition in Hawaii in February and won a
     team Gold Medal.

  The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
   - Chef Odette Smith-Ransome was named an ACF Culinary Educator of the
     Year.
   - Chef Randy Russell has been selected as a member of the U.S. Team at
     the Culinary Olympics.

  The Art Institute of Seattle
   - The Institutes Hot Food Teams won the Washington State ACF Championship

  The Art Institute of Tampa
   - Chef Lucardie won a silver medal in the hot-food competition at the
     Salon of Culinary Arts at the 11th annual Winterfest 2006, sanctioned
     by the ACF.
   - Chef instructor Frederik Lucardie has been nominated for the 2006 ACF
     Chef of the Year Award - Southeastern Region.

  The Art Institute of Vancouver
   - North of the border, the culinary team from The Art Institute of
     Vancouver - Dubrulle Culinary Arts took home the gold and silver medals
     at the Seoul International Food Expo (SIFE), the largest culinary
     competition in Asia.  The Art Institute was the first and only Canadian
     team to ever compete in the contest.
   - A student team won one bronze and four silver medals at the Ninth
     Annual Hot Competition presented by the British Columbia Chefs
     Association.

  The Art Institute of Washington
   - Two students were winners in the Academie Brillat Savarin Awards.

  The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago
   - Eric Collins, a culinary arts student won the grand prize, in the
     Alouette(R) Recipe Contest, which challenged students to develop
     recipes incorporating various Alouette(R) cheese products.

"The Art Institutes are very proud of the accomplishments of its culinary students and faculty," says Chef Michael Nenes, Assistant Vice President of Culinary Arts for The Art Institutes. With over 50 awards received by these parties in the past year, "these awards testify to the expertise of our faculty as highly qualified culinary professionals and confirms The Art Institutes goal of providing a high quality and industry relevant education to our students."

To learn more about The Art Institutes Culinary Arts programs visit http://www.artinstitutes.edu/culinary.

About The Art Institutes

The Art Institutes (http://www.artinstitutes.edu/), with 32 education institutions located throughout North America, provide an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals. The parent company of The Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation (http://www.edmc.com/) is among the largest providers of private post-secondary education in North America, based on student enrollment and revenue. Student enrollment exceeded 72,000 as of fall 2005. EDMC has 72 primary campus locations in 24 states and two Canadian provinces. EDMC's education institutions offer a broad range of academic programs concentrated in the media arts, design, fashion, culinary arts, behavioral sciences, health sciences, education, information technology and business fields, culminating in the award of associate's through doctoral degrees. EDMC has provided career-oriented education for more than 40 years.

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