Copper Skillet country cook-off finals took place around the world over the past few months, all leading up to new chapter finals, which took place in Americas, Australia Asia Pacific and Europe this year.

IACC’s competing chef’s, members, meeting planners and press attended these three events, celebrating the quality and passion that exists in delivering exceptional dining experiences for meeting delegates. The three competitions were staged at:

Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Mansion Hotel & Spa at Werribee Park, Victoria, Australia
Comwell Køge Strand, Copenhagen, Denmark

IACC thanks the host venue teams for all their professionalism and support in hosting the chapter cook-offs and for inviting clients to experience first hand a demonstration of the skill needed to deliver innovative food and beVerage.

For the first time in the history of the Copper Skillet competition, IACC introduced a new Junior Chef category where IACC conference centre chefs under the age of 26 were invited to compete in the cook-off.

The 6 winners now go forward to compete in the final at the IACC annual conference in Ft Lauderdale, Florida next month:

Junior Chef Category Finalists

Chef Jeremie Duchemin from Dolce Chantilly Hotel and Conference Centre, took the IACC-Europe Senior Chef Category Copper Skillet for his winning dish in the cook-off. International Judges named Jeremie the winner for his dish of marinated poultry and gambas, stir-fried vegetables with Thai broth.

Michael Greenlaw Executive Chef at Lancemore, Victoria, took the IACC-Australia Asia Pacific Senior Chef Category Copper Skillet for his winning dish in the cook-off. Michael is a highly qualified and experienced chef at one of the lading conference centers in Australia. Industry expert judges named Michael the winner for his dish of Trussed Pork loin, Sautéed baby squash filled with braised quail, glazed fennel and Jus gros.

Zachary Miller at the The Inn at Virginia Tech took the IACC-Americas Junior Chef Category Copper Skillet for his winning dish in the cook-off. Industry expert judges named Zachary the winner for his dish of brown butter seared prawn and filet with trumpet and lobster mushroom red wine demi accompanied by smashed purple sweet potatoes and sautéed asparagus, carrots, and Swiss chard

Senior Chef Category Finalists

Chef Jesse Hughes from Vue Grande, is one of the youngest members of their team and one of the youngest chef de cuisines in Australia. He took the IACC-Australia Asia Pacific Junior Chef Category Copper Skillet for his winning dish in the cook-off. Industry judges named Jesse the winner for his dish of “Pan seared pork fillet with mushroom and leek ragout, king crab and pickled fennel salad in a lemon and thyme beurre blanc”.

Chef Laura Leonetti from the Villanova University Hotel & Conference Center took the IACC-Americas Senior Chef Category Copper Skillet for her winning dish in the cook-off. Local judges named Laura the winner for her dish of Filet Mignon and Jumbo Prawns, white asparagus, sautéed sweet potatoes, mango & avocado salsa

Trine Thybo Rasmussen at the Koldingfjord Hotel and Conference Centre took the IACC-Europe Junior Chef Category Copper Skillet for her winning dish in the cook-off. Industry expert judges named Trine the winner for her dish of breaded chicken Ballantine, fried black prawns in lemon, roasted pickled red onions, roasted leek, sautéed mushrooms, served with two kinds of potatoes, fondant and mash with herbs and gravy.In both competitions, the chefs were presented with basic pantry items along with a “mystery basket” of proteins. They were given 30 minutes to prepare, create, and present their creations to local area judges and were watched by Meeting Planners and fellow IACC members.

Mark Cooper, IACC CEO commented, “the hugely popular Copper Skillet competition was introduced in 2004 to highlight the artistry and skill of the best chefs from IACC-member conference centres around the world and to honour their contributions to the shared goal of providing an outstanding conference centre experience. The passion, national and now chapter level pride each of the finalists brought into this European final was evident from the emotions of our winning chefs across three continents. I am incredibly proud of each of the 6 finalists and look forward to seeing them represent their IACC chapter in the global final next month”.

The 34th IACC-Americas Annual Conference is scheduled for April 14-17, 2015 at the Bonaventure Resort & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, FL.