Top PCC chef organizes annual chef competition Jan. 6 and 7
December 30, 2011
Tucson, AZ – A Pima Community College Culinary Instructor is leading the effort to find Southern Arizona’s top professional chef and pastry chef.
Elizabeth Mikesell of the Center for Training and Development at PCC’s Desert Vista Campus, is helping organize the Chef’s Association of Southern Arizona competitions. The Chef-Of-The-Year, Pastry Chef-Of-The-Year competitions, and student team competition, are Jan. 6 and 7, 2012.
Mikesell brings a wealth of cooking experience to the table as competition chairwoman. The Tucson native has lived and worked in Europe, and locally was Chef at El Jebala, a Mediterranean restaurant, and Executive Chef at the Country Club of Green Valley.
Among her many honors, she was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs in 1998 and, in 2008, received the American Culinary Federation’s national Humanitarian award. Last year, she was one of only 100 chefs nationwide invited to the White House to participate in a program to reduce childhood obesity.
| CASA Competitions | |
| What: | Pastry Chef-Of-The-Year competition |
| When: | 8:15-11:40 a.m., Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 (judges’ critiques, 12:15 p.m.) |
| Where: | The Art Institute of Tucson, 5099 E. Grant Road |
| What: | Student Team competition (for high schools and colleges) |
| When: | 12:30-4:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 6, 2012 (judges’ critiques, 4:45 p.m.) |
| Where: | The Art Institute of Tucson, 5099 E. Grant Road |
| What: | Chef-Of-The-Year competition |
| When: | 8:15 a.m.-1:10 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012 (judges’ critiques, 1:45 p.m.) |
| Where: | The Art Institute of Tucson, 5099 E. Grant Road |
Mikesell is Director at Large/Competitions Chair for the Chef’s Association (www.acfchefsarizona.org), the local chapter of ACF (www.acfchefsarizona.org). On Jan. 5, Mikesell will help oversee Tucson’s first practical exam for ACF chef certification, also at the Art Institute.
CONTACT:
C.J. Karamargin
Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations
(520) 206-4850