KANSAS CITY, KAN. ----- The Kansas City Kansas Community College-Technical Education Center played host Tuesday to the ACF Kansas City Chef’s Association meeting, bringing chefs from throughout the metropolitan area to the facility.
The monthly meeting was not only an opportunity for culinary students at KCKCC-TEC to work on their networking skills, but also showcased the facility, which opened just more than a year ago. Chef Richard McPeake said a Great Grains menu was featured that included five different grains.
There was also a live demonstration by the executive chef of Children’s Mercy Hospital that included two KCKCC-TEC students who graduated last year. Following the dinner, the association conducted its monthly meeting.
“This event is beneficial for us because the area executive chefs get a chance to see our program in action,” McPeake said. “We featured Great Grains of Europe (healthy cooking) on the menu, and all of our students participated in the cooking.”
ACF (The American Culinary Federation) is a professional organization for both cooks and chefs. The goal of the organization, which was founded in 1929, is to promote American chefs throughout the world. ACF offers culinary competitions, certification programs, an apprenticeship program, events at the regional and national level, literature and much more to support professional chefs and the food service industry.
“Months of preparation are involved in putting together an event like this,” McPeake said of the monthly meeting. “We need to get all of the good from our purveyors and gather the proper recipes. Cooking started at 8 a.m. in the morning, and everything had to be done by 6 p.m. There is definitely a lot of work involved.”
For more information on the culinary programs at KCKCC-TEC, call 913-334-1100. For more information on ACF Kansas City Chef’s Association, visit www.acfkansascitychefs.org.
