Two IACC Chefs Win Spots in Annual Chef-of-the-Year Competition
Paul Dokmanovic and Marc Suennemann
ST. LOUIS, MO, February 1, 2008. The North America Chapter of the International Association of Conference Centers has announced the two top chefs who won their respective competitions to compete in the annual Copper Skillet International Conference Center Chef-of-the-Year award.
The two cook-off competitions took place in Canada at BMO Financial Group Institute for Learning in Toronto, Ontario, and in the United States at the James L. Allen Center outside Chicago, IL in a run-up to IACC's Global Copper Skillet competition on March 28, 2008 at Zermatt Resort & Spa in Midway, UT.
Paul Dokmanovic, sous-chef at The Banff Centre, (Banff, Alberta) out-cooked the Canadian competition to win the 2008 Canadian Copper Skillet Competition. Dokmanovic won with a dish of Rosemary Lamb Chops with Chicken and King Oyster Mushroom-stuffed Basil Tortellini and a Salad of Baby Spinach, Teardrop Tomato, Potato, and Yellow Peppers.
Executive Chef Marc Suennemann of Chateau Elan Winery, Resort & Conference Center in Braselton, GA beat other formidable American competitors with his winning Seared Red Snapper and Free Range Chicken Medallions with Orzo pasta, Ratatouille and a Provencal sauce.
The popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference centers around the world and to honor their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference center experience. Competing Chefs at the final 2008 cook-off will represent IACC Chapters in The Netherlands, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Denmark and Canada.
Culinary themes in past years included Asian Fusion, Moroccan, Provencal, and Thai. This year, the theme has been abandoned in order to focus on creativity. Each competing chef will receive a mystery basket of ingredients at the start of the competition after which they will be free to create any style of dish. According to Chef Paolo Stefani of the James L. Allen Center and Chair of the Global Copper Skillet Competition, "this creates a more even playing field by challenging their overall creativity." Each chef will have 15 minutes to review the ingredients and strategize followed by 30 minutes to create their dish.
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