Foodlink Hosts ACF Rochester Chef of the Year Cookoff

In the Community: From Fooddlink/The American Culinary Federation Rochester Chapter

The American Culinary Federation Rochester Chapter (ACFR) has partnered with Foodlink to hold the ACFR 2022 Chef of the Year (COTY) Cookoff on Monday, Nov. 14. 

The event will be held inside the Foodlink Community Kitchen located at 2011 Mt Read Blvd, Rochester, NY 14615 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The program features grazing stations followed by the COTY competition Cookoff with local radio celebrity, Dino Kay, as emcee and ends with the announcement of the 2022 COTY.

A limited number of general admission tickets are offered at $50 per person and must be purchased by Nov. 12. 

The COTY title is the highest honor ACF Rochester awards to a member chef. Contenders for the title are nominated by fellow ACFR members. To compete in the cookoff, which is the final round in the selection process, competitors must demonstrate fulfillment of a specific set of criteria relating to a nominee’s years and level of experience in the food & beverage industry or culinary education. Selection criteria also include contributions in support of ACF Rochester, its mission and initiatives, as well as service to the community. Competing in this year’s Cookoff are:

• Brian Mattice, PC1, CEC, CCA, Culinary Art Instructor, WFL BOCES
• Chris Januzzi, Chef/Partner, Birdhouse Brewery; Culinary Instructor, MCC Hospitality Program

The evening begins with networking and tastings available from grazing stations provided by the Foodlink Career Fellowship culinary apprenticeship program, Monroe Community College Hospitality Program and Rochester Institute of Technology Dining Services. 

ACF Rochester (ACFR), the ACF Professional Chefs/Cooks Association of Rochester Inc., is the Rochester, NY chapter. ACF is the largest professional chefs’ organization in North America. ACF also operates the most comprehensive culinary certification program in the world. 

At 6:30 p.m., emcee Dino Kay will kick off the competition in the Foodlink Community Kitchen where the competitors’ stations and the ingredient/pantry supplies are available for the two finalists. The chefs will prepare a full dinner entrée with protein, starch and vegetable components. 

The competition begins with Sarah Kelsey, 2021 COTY winner and Executive Sous Chef at Cloverwood Senior Living, revealing the secret protein she has chosen. The competing chefs then have 15 minutes to plan their dish using that protein, one hour to assemble their ingredients and prepare their dish, and five minutes to plate (four plates each, three for the judging and one for presentation to the audience.) The Cookoff ends with the chefs stepping back from their stations and presenting to the judges, who have 20 minutes to score the dishes and determine the next COTY.

The panel of five judges consists of COTY Sarah Kelsey and former COTY title holders: Chefs Michael Macri, Sean Flaherty, Michael Speranza and John Venturo. The dishes are scored based on taste, presentation, use of secret protein, nutritional components and the chef’s adherence to food safety rules in preparation. 

At the end of the event, they will announce the 2022 ACF Rochester COTY and plans for the Award Dinner in 2023, when COTY Sarah Kelsey will turn over the COTY trophy to the 2022 winner.

Foodlink is a Rochester-based nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger and building healthier communities by addressing both the symptoms and root causes of food insecurity. They serve as the hub of the emergency food system across a 10-county service area. Learn more about how the organization transforms lives and creates healthy futures for communities at www.FoodlinkNY.org, or follow on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram at @foodlinkny. 

For event details and tickets, visit www.ACFRoc.org.