Moraine Valley Community College honored its first group of students to be named certified culinarians by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) at a reception held in the college’s Table 67 restaurant. Each recipient was awarded a special diploma and a patch to wear on their chef’s jacket from the ACF.
Moraine Valley students who complete their culinary arts associate degree and hold a student membership in the ACF can apply for the certified culinarian certification since they graduated from an ACF-accredited program.
Moraine Valley’s first certified culinarians (from left to right), Juliet Vargas, Odalys Ocampo, David Lavigne, Shana Nunn and Christa Julian, were recognized for this achievement at a special reception in their honor. (Not shown: Christopher Bizarro)
Panos Hadjimitsos, assistant dean of Moraine Valley’s Science, Business and Computer Technology Department, said he handled the application process, and the college paid the membership and other fees for the students who qualified for the certification and chose to participate as an added value to the Culinary Arts Program. They intend to provide this service to graduates in the future.
“The college is here to support students earning this certification,” he said. “Certified culinarian is like the sprinkles on the icing of the cake.”
Dean Eliacostas, program coordinator for the Culinary Arts Program noted the certification shows employers students have successfully completed a high-quality culinary arts program.
“The certified culinarian certificate issued by the American Culinary Federation demonstrates the student has reached a certain level of knowledge, skill and culinary experience,” he said.
Moraine Valley is one of only six colleges in Illinois, and the only community college in Cook County, whose culinary arts program is accredited by the ACF. To gain this accreditation, the program was evaluated by the federation to ensure it meets a rigorous set of industry standards.
Christopher Bizarro said he thought it was great the college offered this bonus for him and his fellow graduates.
“I appreciated that the school did this because a certification is good to add to your resume,” he said.
For media inquiries, contact Karen Town, communications specialist, at (708) 974-5652 or town@morainevalley.edu.
