McMillan to push healthy-eating program in Vegas
In March, the American Culinary Federation North Carolina Chapter received $10,000 from the Federation’s Education Foundation and Chef & Child Foundation at the ACF Southeast Regional Conference in Louisville, Ken.
To earn the prize, the chapter hosted a number of activities designed to get young people thinking more about making healthy food choices. “Lunch Break for Kids” fundraisers and Childhood Nutrition Day activities in communities and schools across the state were among the North Carolina chefs’ offerings.
They beat the ACF Chefs of the Low Country, the ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter, the ACF Southwestern Virginia Chapter, the ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association and the Fort Lauderdale ACF, Inc. to win the top prize.
The chapter will compete July 23 with chefs from across the country for national honors and an additional $10,000.
Chef and Child, a nutrition series that allows chefs to lead parents and their kids in healthy food prep demonstrations, started in Forsyth County in 1991 and has since expanded to 22 NC counties. Chef Donald McMillan, owner of Simple Elegance Catering and The Stocked Pot & Co. and a longtime member of the American Culinary Federation North Carolina Chapter, said the $10,000 regional prize allowed the chapter expand the program even more.
Nationwide, more than 1,000 chefs have participated in a variety of activities, including fundraisers, school demos and citywide events, reaching 10,000 family members across the country with the message of proper childhood nutrition.
McMillan, who heads the chapter’s Chef and Child program, will represent North Carolina in Vegas, and compete with three other ACF Regional winners during the American Culinary Federation’s 2013 National Convention.
The NC Chapter will host its annual conference in Winston-Salem from Oct. 13 –14. As part of the gathering, two Chef and Child seminars will be held with local kids.
