A-B Tech Hot Food Team Wins Gold at Nationals
A-B Tech's Hot Food Team was awarded gold medals and was named national runner-up in the American Culinary Federation Student Team Championship July 16 in Philadelphia. From left are Marla Leblow, Adam Cole, Nell Flemer, Jason Huang, and Mark Hutchins, captain.
A-B Tech's Hot Food Team was named national runner-up in the American Culinary Federation Student Team Championship July 16 in Philadelphia.
The team made it to nationals after winning first place in state and regional competition. The team, which was awarded a gold medal for its high score, was one-tenth of a point behind the winner, the Professional Culinary Institute of Campbell, CA.
Members of the team are captain Mark Hutchins, Adam Cole, Nell Flemer, Jason Huang, and Marla Leblow. Chef Bronwen McCormick, Culinary instructor, and Chef Charles deVries, Baking and Pastry Arts instructor, serve as coaches.
Cole, an A-B Tech graduate who now works as a chef in Atlanta, drove to A-B Tech at least once a week to practice with his teammates. "He put 25,000 miles on his car since August coming to practice," said McCormick. The team would meet once a week to prepare their signature meal, with more practices scheduled during competition weeks.
"They were spectacular," she said. "They performed as well as they could. This team is really special. They really take care of each other."
"This is probably one of the most cohesive groups I have worked with," said deVries. "They are the epitome of the word 'team.' It was a little tense, but we had a lot of confidence in them. We didn't worry about them at all though we had some stiff competition. The four teams that were there were the best of the best."
"It was an honor to be a part of it," said Chef Sheila Tillman, Hospitality Education chair. "It's been wonderful to see them grow through the years here. It was an awesome culmination of everything they did. They did what they had planned to do, and did it well. They were beautiful to watch. "
The competition requires student teams to first demonstrate butchery and knife skills then prepare a four-course signature meal. They are also judged on their floor skills. They are awarded points out of a possible 40. Gold medal winners have to earn at least 36 points.
The A-B Tech team placed first in knife skills and floor skills. "The coaches provided a strong resource of skills and knowledge, which is evidenced by this incredible outcome," said Tillman.
"The floor judge said it was the best kitchen he had ever seen. That is saying a lot," said deVries. "He actually pulled us over before the team was actually finished and said he was extremely impressed."
"Their performance in the kitchen got him excited," said McCormick. "That gets the students excited about what they had done. They inspire me."
The A-B Tech team served pan seared striped bass filet for the appetizer, followed by a mixed greens salad with a shiitake mushroom and triple cream cheese Napoleon and an apple wood-smoked bacon vinaigrette. The entrée was chicken roulade with mushroom duxelles, fennel sausage, glazed golden beets, horseradish gnocchi and roasted chicken sauce. Dessert was Granny Smith apple timbale with goat's milk caramel, sourwood honey-blackberry sauce and lime crème fraiche. The blackberry dessert sauce also contained some jalapeno pepper.
A-B Tech at the Mall to Offer Day and Evening Courses
A-B Tech at the Mall, a two-classroom space located near one of the side entrances of Belk, will open later this month. The College will offer credit and non-credit courses during the day and evening.
"For first-time college students, A-B Tech at the Mall is a potentially less intimidating place to start their educational journey," said Michele Hathcock, Director of Recruitment, Student Activities and A-B Tech at the Mall.
Fourteen continuing education classes are scheduled for the fall term, from conversational Spanish to arts and crafts. The HRD courses Career View and Computer Literacy will be available, along with Small Business Center offerings on Business Basics 101 for Crafts People and the Lost Art of Customer Service. Students can also use their lunch hour for wellness courses yoga and Pilates.
Two credit courses, Retailing and Principles of Marketing, will be available in the fall with Visual Merchandising and Consumer Behavior scheduled for the spring. Students who successfully complete all four will earn a retail marketing certificate.
"We are hoping to target mall employees, mall walkers, and those that work or live near the Asheville Mall," said Hathcock. "It's a very positive step in taking our mission of dedicated to student success to the next level. The A-B Tech at the Mall site will take the college to the people."
Phi Beta Lambda Wins At Nationals
A-B Tech's chapter of Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) won nine team and individual awards, and two chapter awards during the National Leadership Conference June 22-28 in Nashville, TN.
Michael Fann won second place in Sales Presentation, while the team of Jane McMahan, Jason Grey and Rachel Loescher won third place with the Partnership with Business Project for "College in the Mall." Kathy Woods received a fourth-place win with word processing and McMahan, Josiah Hyatt and Kevin Davio won sixth place in the American Enterprise Project. Sabrina Boone and Sherry Inch won seventh place for Business Ethics. Michael Smith and Loescher won eighth place for Local Chapter Annual Business Report. Boone and Hyatt placed ninth for Public Speaking and Sports Management and Marketing, respectively. Dana Huskins won tenth place for Java Programming.
Students named to the 2006 Institute for Leaders, Honors Graduates, were Boone, Howard Burrill, Davio, Fann, Grey, Inch, Loescher, Smith and Woods.
The A-B Tech PBL chapter received a Gold Seal Award of Merit and a Career and Membership Achievement Program Chapter Level.
Advisers Kathy Toler, Business Administration instructor, and Kathie Doole, Business Computer Technologies instructor, attended the conference and served as event administrators. Professional Division members Amanda Lehman, Josh Shriner, and Heidi Metcalf, who are previous members, also attended.