AUSTRALIAN CULINARY FEDERATION ANNOUNCES NEW CORPORATE STRUCTURE FOLLOWING AMALGAMATION OF STATE BODIES

AS THIS ISSUE GOES ONLINE, the Australian Culinary Federation has just announced its new corporate structure, following the amalgamation of its state bodies into one nationwide organisation.

In place of the former structure, consisting of seven independent state bodies each with its own President, the ACF will now consist of a National President and Board, with Directors for each region. The existing state Presidents will take on the new title of Region Directors and serve out their elected term of office as per usual, along with the existing Board members.

In simple terms the main benefit of the restructure is that instead of each state body having its own constitution, there is now one constitution and structure for the entire organisation. This will streamline the decision-making process and reduce running costs, making the ACF more efficient and creating more opportunities for the growth and development of the association to benefit members.

The new motto chosen to underscore the restructure is "One Dream, One Team, One Voice" and this exemplifies the unification of the ACF into a truly national representative organisation.

Australian Culinary Federation National President Karen Doyle announced the new ONE National Association for the ACF via Zoom live-stream to simultaneous live launch events across all ACF Regions on Tuesday 27th April.

Sidney Taylor Memorial Black Hat Award winners announced

The Australian Culinary Federation extends congratulations to Nicholas Blackmore of Victoria and Michael Strautmanis of South Australia on being awarded the Sydney Taylor memorial Black Hat Trophy for 2021.

The Sidney Taylor Memorial  Black Hat Award is considered the highest achievement a chef can attain in recognition of their contribution and commitment to the commercial cookery industry - which must be significantly beyond that expected in a normal career of a chef.

Nominations for the award are kept anonymous, as is the judging panel. The Victorian committee of the Australian Culinary Federation creates an independent group comprising two committee officers with a minimum of 15 years’ industry experience, at least one previous Black Hat recipient and four other members with a minimum of 15 years’ industry experience. The panel considers the application and notifies nominees who must be chosen unanimously to receive the award.

There have only been 12 previous recipients: Sydney Taylor 1980, Alex Chinever 1982, Ernst Stuhler 1984, John Miller OAM 1987, Claudio Magris OAM 1990, Aelfryn Bailey 1991, George Hill 2001, Bernd Uber 2006, Gary Farrell 2006, and Brenden Hill 2013 who all come with high flying pedigrees.

The 2021 winners have both made outstanding contributions to the cooking industry tirelessly and without regard for personal gain. They have demonstrated they are in every aspect professional, enthusiastic, conscientious and ethical and they place an extremely high value on commitment to excellence and assisting others to reach their full potential.

2021 Black Hat Trophy Awardees

The award was named after Sidney Taylor by the Australian Guild of Professional Cooks, now the Australian Culinary Federation, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the industry, with a criterion set to reflect Sid’s original values.

Sid’s career commenced in England. After a tour in the RAF during World War II he returned to his trade as head chef and assistant head chef in several English hospitals, then was selected as one of the professional cooks to cater for the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956. 

Following the games Sid secured a position with the Austin Hospital. Fourteen years later he became a product development officer for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. During this time he developed commercial and domestic appliances and lectured at trade colleges on how to use and get the best from the equipment. 

In 1975 Sid volunteered to help after Cyclone Tracy tore through Darwin devastating the city. Even at the end of his life, as a Master member of the AGPC and overseas public relations officer, Sid was always giving.

For more information about the award and recipients please go to www.austculinary.com.au/victoria