President's Letter

I hope everyone has had a great summer! I can't believe that Labor Day is upon us already. A lot of great things have been happening in the local culinary scene this summer.

In particular, it's time again to come together and support the great group of people that make up our MCCA chapter - The 2010 MCCA Golf Outing and Chef of the Year Dinner is being held at Orchard Lake Country Club on Monday, September 27th, hosted by Chef Mark Dixon, CEC, and the awards dinner will be presented by our 2009 Chef of the Year, Chef Joe Nader.

We need everyone's help to once again make this a special event - we are in need of golfers, diners, and sponsors. We also need donated prizes for the raffle at the golf outing: gift certificates, bottles of wine, cookbooks, kitchen toys, or gift baskets. IF YOU CAN HELP IN ANY WAY, please contact me as soon as possible.

Make sure you register before September 13th to get your 20% discount! This will help the chefs to properly prepare by having time to purchase food and line up enough help to make this a successful event.

This month's chapter meeting will be at Trevarrow, Inc. in Auburn Hills on Monday, September 13th. Chef Deni Smiljanovski of Lazybones Smokehouse will prepare a great BBQ meal for us, and then share his thoughts about his small business and BBQ. Check out the NEXT MEETING sidebar to the left for a location map and driving directions.

In June, Chef Steve Allen and Chef Chuck "Rocky" Rachwitz from Steve and Rocky's decided to honor our own Chef Milos Cihelka with an 80th Birthday Party and Tribute Dinner on July 11th. They invited several chefs that had been mentored by Chef Milos at The Golden Mushroom over the years to collaborate on the celebration dinner, and it was a fantastic success! I want to thank all the chefs that participated in the dinner, and also our sponsors: Sydney Ross, owner of Great Lakes Wine and Sprits, Micelli and Oldfield, M.F. Foley Fish Company of Boston, Ellen Gass Centennial Farms, and Sysco of Detroit.

Congratulations to both Schoolcraft College and The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Michigan who were officially accredited by the ACFEF Commission on July 9th, 2010. Both program coordinators, Chef Chris Misiak, CEC, CCE, and Chef Ramon Herrera, CCE, put in many hours getting the schools ready for the inspection by the accreditation commission team.

We are very proud to have three talented chefs from our chapter taking the Certified Master Chefs (CMC) exam in October at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. If you see any of these local chefs, wish them luck! Chef Brian Beland, CEC, of the Country Club of Detriot, Chef Randy Emert, CEC, CCE, of Great Oaks Country club and Chef Shawn Loving, CEC, CCE, of Schoolcraft College. Best of luck!

We had many chapter members receive their certifications over the summer. Congratulations to Atiff Issa, CC, Amanda Kohlndorfer, CC, CPC, Mark De Ronne, CC, CPC, Habib Ruffin, CC, Vivian Lozon, CWPC, CPC, and Gregory Cambell, CEC. Great job! Congratulation to the following members for the renewal of their certification: Carol Deinzer, CEPC, Lucille Banker, CSC, David Daniot, CEC, and Randall Smith, CEC.

As a side note, please remember to show our chapter sponsors your support by patronizing their businesses whenever possible. They have done a great service to the MCCA by donating product, time and money to us over the years. Stop by the PARTERS section of the website for links and contact information. Thank you to all those that support the MCCA!

I hope to see everyone at the monthly meeting on September 13, and at The Chef of the Year Dinner and Golf Outing on September 27th.

Randy Smith, C.E.C.

2010 Golf Outing and Chef of the Year Dinner

You are cordially invited to attend the 2010 Annual MCCA Golf Outing & Chef of the Year Awards Dinner. Both events will take place on September 27, 2010 at Orchard Lake Country Club, hosted by Chef Mark Dixon, CEC.

This year's event includes a continental breakfast, 18-hole, 4-person scramble with cart, lunch, beverages on the course, and an awards ceremony with hors d'oeuvres to congratulate the winning foursome. The golf outing is followed by an hors d'oeuvres reception with cash bar, and the Chef of the Year Awards Dinner presented by 2009 Chef of the Year Joseph Nader, Executive Chef, Levy Restaurants - Ford Field.

We Need Sponsors!

Be sure to check out the available corporate sponsorship opportunities. In addition to the benefits provided in your individual sponsorship package, ALL SPONSORS will receive a half-page vendor spotlight story in an upcoming issue of The Michigan Chefs newsletter, and the opportunity to distribute company literature or promotional items in a "goody bag" given to each golfer. Company literature or promotional items are due by September 13th. All proceeds will benefit the MCCA Education Fund. We appreciate your support in making this an exciting and memorable event!

Registration

To register for this event, or sign-up as a sponsor please click HERE or visit the MCCA Store. To download and print the invitation and registration form, please click HERE.

Driving Directions

Click HERE for map and driving directions.