OCCI’s Culinary Team Brings Home the Gold Again, August 11

Southwestern Oregon Coast Culinary Institute’s Student Culinary Team competed in Florida in early August and brought home the gold. The American Culinary Federation’s National Convention is held annually in Orlando. This year’s convention hosted the rebirth of the American Culinary Classic – an international competition for individuals and teams held every four years. The OCCI team competed in various categories and received a gold medal, Best in Show, Highest Score and took home the world championship in the Individual Cold Foods category. Executive Director Chef Shawn Hanlin and Team Coach and Instructor Randy Torres are proud of the team, noting that hard work always pays off. The students competed with professionals from around the world. They represented themselves and the College well. In a separate competition OCCI student Maddie Bauer competed for ACF Student Chef of the Year. As the Western Champion she was the runner-up for the national title. “Although Maddie didn’t win, we are very proud of her accomplishments and her professional demeanor while representing OCCI and Southwestern Oregon Community College,” Chefs Torres and Hanlin echoed in unison, “ we are very proud of both Maddie and our team.”