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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Avi is NCA's "Most Beautiful" for fifth year in a row
-New York, NY
-Lynn Avi has for the fifth consecutive year won one of the few NCA awards not based on culinary talent, the NCA's "Most Beautiful" Award.
-Lynn Avi has for the fifth consecutive year won one of the few NCA awards not based on culinary talent, the NCA's "Most Beautiful" Award.
NCA Award Moderator Michele St. Croix made the announcement late Saturday.
Avi is more than just a pretty face, however; she won the Most Determined Chef Award in 2007 and 2009, the Most Fiery (with a Pan) Chef Award in 2008 (her Feast Fest colleague Lisa Choi has won that award every year but 2008 since 2003), the Speediest Chef Award in 2010, and the Most Dedicated Chef Award in 2007 and most recently on Oct. 1.
Various NCA Awards for the year of 2011 are being released from Oct. 1 to Nov. 10. Avi has already racked up two this year.
Avi swept away the competition in the Most Beautiful category, earning 95.26% of the vote.
It's a Big Reception for Monde
-Marina del Rey, CA
-Saturday saw the Official Initiation & Celebration for the six new chefs at Feast Fest this year, and though all were welcomed warmly, the clear favorite among chefs, staff, and scouters was Aleck Monde, the son of former FF fixture Marc Monde.
Monde was one of the "Original 7" chefs in 1995 and was a Feast Fest star in his years from 1995 to 2004, Monde's was a brand of overly popular Americana cooking with a little of his French-Canadian heritage sprinkled in.
Monde left the event after 2004 to care for his cancer-stricken wife, but he passed his love of cooking and the culinary events onto his son, Aleck. Aleck Monde, 21, was singled out for an FF contract this past September, and he signed unhesitatingly. He began headcheffing his father's Ottawa restaurant, L'Ancetre, in 2010, and Marc Monde, now 48, has moved up to a managerial position with the NCA. His post is in his hometown of Ottawa where he is caring for his wife who is successfully fighting off breast cancer. The Monde family hope to launch a Breast Cancer Awareness theme at Feast Fest sometime in the near future.
Aleck Monde was a gem on the potential-chef scene for Feast Fest scouters beginning in 2010, and though Monde stated he would be "ecstatic" to join, the two sides were incapable of reaching a deal. On September 30, however, the last day of the Scouting Period, he signed a three-year, $489,261/year contract with FF, making him the last of this offseason's six chefs to be signed.
Monde is expected to bring a style to the Feast Fest floor that is similar to his father's. Monde received a standing ovation when announced at the Initiation and Celebration Ceremony Saturday afternoon. Monde took the Feast Fest Oath and broke the Ceremonial Turkey Wishbone, initiating him as an official Feast Fest chef.
Monde is still "finding his feet," he claims. Travel difficulties and previous commitments have meant that he hasn't had the chance to take an exhibitional floor yet, but he plans to join in for the November 8 exhibition, the final one before Thanksgiving, at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla.
Monde, though a new face on the scene, is familiar to Feast Fest chefs through his father's time at the event. He met such fixtures as Jim McAllister and Alexei Aiber in 2002 at age 12, and in 2006 met the Mason Duo, Lynn Avi, Lindbergh Merrssff, and the Stephan brothers.
"We should all get along very well," commented an optimistic Aiber.
Monde will take a position on the fourth line of power, just below the most prominent FF chefs. His NCA rating as of April 21, 2011 is 92.5 (his father Marc's peaked at 94.1 in 2002).
However, there were five others who went through the initiation ceremonies Saturday who also deserve to be given attention. Peter Cook (cousin of former FF chef D.A. Cook), Alicia Mendelcroft, Jamey MacO'Shea, Jarólde Jámes (featured in this week's Chef Profile on Friday), and Danyela Harris all officially became Feast Fest chefs Saturday.
Jámes signed a two-year, $400,516/year contract on December 23, 2010.
Cook signed a one-year, $421,357 contract on January 31.
Mendelcroft signed a four-year, $214,017/year contract on March 2.
MacO'Shea signed a two-year, $399,545/year contract on March 23.
Harris signed a seven-year, $223,251/year contract on August 25.
All of the six new chefs aside from Aleck Monde have participated in at least one exhibition thus far. Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt commented that all have been "received wonderfully."
-Saturday saw the Official Initiation & Celebration for the six new chefs at Feast Fest this year, and though all were welcomed warmly, the clear favorite among chefs, staff, and scouters was Aleck Monde, the son of former FF fixture Marc Monde.
Monde was one of the "Original 7" chefs in 1995 and was a Feast Fest star in his years from 1995 to 2004, Monde's was a brand of overly popular Americana cooking with a little of his French-Canadian heritage sprinkled in.
Monde left the event after 2004 to care for his cancer-stricken wife, but he passed his love of cooking and the culinary events onto his son, Aleck. Aleck Monde, 21, was singled out for an FF contract this past September, and he signed unhesitatingly. He began headcheffing his father's Ottawa restaurant, L'Ancetre, in 2010, and Marc Monde, now 48, has moved up to a managerial position with the NCA. His post is in his hometown of Ottawa where he is caring for his wife who is successfully fighting off breast cancer. The Monde family hope to launch a Breast Cancer Awareness theme at Feast Fest sometime in the near future.
Aleck Monde was a gem on the potential-chef scene for Feast Fest scouters beginning in 2010, and though Monde stated he would be "ecstatic" to join, the two sides were incapable of reaching a deal. On September 30, however, the last day of the Scouting Period, he signed a three-year, $489,261/year contract with FF, making him the last of this offseason's six chefs to be signed.
Monde is expected to bring a style to the Feast Fest floor that is similar to his father's. Monde received a standing ovation when announced at the Initiation and Celebration Ceremony Saturday afternoon. Monde took the Feast Fest Oath and broke the Ceremonial Turkey Wishbone, initiating him as an official Feast Fest chef.
Monde is still "finding his feet," he claims. Travel difficulties and previous commitments have meant that he hasn't had the chance to take an exhibitional floor yet, but he plans to join in for the November 8 exhibition, the final one before Thanksgiving, at Edelyn Cooking Arena in Punta Gorda, Fla.
Monde, though a new face on the scene, is familiar to Feast Fest chefs through his father's time at the event. He met such fixtures as Jim McAllister and Alexei Aiber in 2002 at age 12, and in 2006 met the Mason Duo, Lynn Avi, Lindbergh Merrssff, and the Stephan brothers.
"We should all get along very well," commented an optimistic Aiber.
Monde will take a position on the fourth line of power, just below the most prominent FF chefs. His NCA rating as of April 21, 2011 is 92.5 (his father Marc's peaked at 94.1 in 2002).
However, there were five others who went through the initiation ceremonies Saturday who also deserve to be given attention. Peter Cook (cousin of former FF chef D.A. Cook), Alicia Mendelcroft, Jamey MacO'Shea, Jarólde Jámes (featured in this week's Chef Profile on Friday), and Danyela Harris all officially became Feast Fest chefs Saturday.
Jámes signed a two-year, $400,516/year contract on December 23, 2010.
Cook signed a one-year, $421,357 contract on January 31.
Mendelcroft signed a four-year, $214,017/year contract on March 2.
MacO'Shea signed a two-year, $399,545/year contract on March 23.
Harris signed a seven-year, $223,251/year contract on August 25.
All of the six new chefs aside from Aleck Monde have participated in at least one exhibition thus far. Event Mgr. William Vanderbilt commented that all have been "received wonderfully."