-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-After an additional flurry of talks with Feast Fest executive officers on Wednesday, FF fixture Stephen Dreim is extremely close to resigning from Feast Fest due to being investigated for possible connections to a scouter bribery scheme.
Anah de Vri and Peter di Vris bribed scouters to get a $469,000 salary raise, from $531,000 to $1,000,000. The raise was announced Aug. 27.
The next day, on Aug. 28, a $50,000 raise for Dreim was announced. Though much more realistic than the Dutch chefs' $469,000 upping, the $50,000 amount was still above average, and these factors, combined with the fact that neither raise was preapproved by the Executive Board of Feast Fest before being announced to the public, led to the investigation.
Dreim said he was "incensed" at his interrogations.
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The NCA Feast Fest lives here
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Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Correction
An entry stating that FF chef lost out on her second consecutive NCA's Best French Award misspelled her name.
That entry erroneously spelled the name of FF chef Alue-Charlote Sté-Germaine Melling as Alue-Charlote Sté-Germain Melling.
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That entry erroneously spelled the name of FF chef Alue-Charlote Sté-Germaine Melling as Alue-Charlote Sté-Germain Melling.
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Vill-Mont-Tréîs Shocks NCA, Steals NCA's Best French from A.C.S.G. Melling by One Vote
-New York
-Amjuéan Vill-Mont-Tréîs shocked the NCA by snagging the 2012 NCA Best French award from Alue-Charlote Stè-Germain Melling by one vote.
Vill-Mont-Tréîs, a Parisian chef, received 434 of 2,332 notes cast to Melling's 433. Though Vill-Mont-Tréîs career's is on the rise and he became the head chef of a Paris five star earlier this year, his name was not even added to the ballot until Sunday, the deadline date, and he was considered a long-shot for even cracking the top 100. Feast Fest's Melling is a five-time champion of the Best French honor and has podiumed, aside from winning, in three other votes.
"Obviously, it is an incredible honor to have bestowed upon myself the honor of Best French by the NCA, I have received the honor five times previously. It is only the greatest of pleasures to concede the award this year to the true talents of Amjuéan," Melling said.
Vill-Mont-Tréîs is lives and works in Paris but is eligible to be NCA registered because he holds dual French and American citizenship.
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-Amjuéan Vill-Mont-Tréîs shocked the NCA by snagging the 2012 NCA Best French award from Alue-Charlote Stè-Germain Melling by one vote.
Vill-Mont-Tréîs, a Parisian chef, received 434 of 2,332 notes cast to Melling's 433. Though Vill-Mont-Tréîs career's is on the rise and he became the head chef of a Paris five star earlier this year, his name was not even added to the ballot until Sunday, the deadline date, and he was considered a long-shot for even cracking the top 100. Feast Fest's Melling is a five-time champion of the Best French honor and has podiumed, aside from winning, in three other votes.
"Obviously, it is an incredible honor to have bestowed upon myself the honor of Best French by the NCA, I have received the honor five times previously. It is only the greatest of pleasures to concede the award this year to the true talents of Amjuéan," Melling said.
Vill-Mont-Tréîs is lives and works in Paris but is eligible to be NCA registered because he holds dual French and American citizenship.
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Mason Duo Again Snag "Fun Chefs"
-New York
-For the fourth consecutive year, the Mason Duo has snagged top honors in the NCA's "Fun Chefs" award voting.
"We are absolutely ebullient today to hear of our Head Chefs in the Mason Duo again earning the 'Fun Chefs' award," said Feast Fest executive spokesperson Mimi Millidge.
FFer Jim McAllister also earned third in the voting.
Of 1,037 votes cast, 137 went to the Mason Duo, 98 to Filia Meusle, 77 to McAllister, and 725 to 71 others. FFers Lynn Avi received 2 votes, Lisa Choi 2 votes, Keith Wholereh 1 vote, Daniel Mettling 1 vote, Joe Pasik 1.5 votes, and Jan Stephan 0.5 votes (one voter cast two votes, one for Jan Stephan and one for Joe Pasik).
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-For the fourth consecutive year, the Mason Duo has snagged top honors in the NCA's "Fun Chefs" award voting.
"We are absolutely ebullient today to hear of our Head Chefs in the Mason Duo again earning the 'Fun Chefs' award," said Feast Fest executive spokesperson Mimi Millidge.
FFer Jim McAllister also earned third in the voting.
Of 1,037 votes cast, 137 went to the Mason Duo, 98 to Filia Meusle, 77 to McAllister, and 725 to 71 others. FFers Lynn Avi received 2 votes, Lisa Choi 2 votes, Keith Wholereh 1 vote, Daniel Mettling 1 vote, Joe Pasik 1.5 votes, and Jan Stephan 0.5 votes (one voter cast two votes, one for Jan Stephan and one for Joe Pasik).
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Dreim Interrogated, Vows Resignation if "Skewering" Continues
-Marina del Rey, Ca.
-Feast Fest phenom Stephen Dreim is vowing to resign if he receives further scalding from Feast Fest executive management over possible involvement in a bribery scheme.
Dreim said he was "infuriated" at "the way I have been absolutely skewered simply because I received a salary raise one day after the illegitimate raises of Anah de Vri and Peter di Vris."
De Vri and di Vris, prominent Dutch chefs, signed with Feast Fest in July but then bribed scouters to have their salaries upped $469,000 each. The announcement of the raise was made Aug. 27.
Then, on Aug. 28, the same scouter who announced the de Vri/di Vris raise came forward and announced a $50,000 raise for Dreim. The average raise amount is $5,000-$20,000, but a $50,000 raise is not unheard of.
Still, Dreim's raise is the eighth largest ever for a Feast Fest chef, and de Vri/di Vris's $469,000 raise smashed FF records. The amount of the raise coupled with its proximity to the di Vris/de Vri raise and the fact that both raises were announced by the same scouter led to the opening of an independent investigation.
In a private meeting room, Event Manager William Vanderbilt, his seconds-in-command, Executive Assistants Arthur Ayeiy and Willa Pulman, and several other executives grilled Dreim. After a five-hour session, Dreim burst out of the room in anger and threatened resignation.
But, "the resignation threat from Mr. Dreim only heightens our suspicions," Ayeiy said.
Vanderbilt's team is scheduled to meet again with Dreim Wednesday.
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-Feast Fest phenom Stephen Dreim is vowing to resign if he receives further scalding from Feast Fest executive management over possible involvement in a bribery scheme.
Dreim said he was "infuriated" at "the way I have been absolutely skewered simply because I received a salary raise one day after the illegitimate raises of Anah de Vri and Peter di Vris."
De Vri and di Vris, prominent Dutch chefs, signed with Feast Fest in July but then bribed scouters to have their salaries upped $469,000 each. The announcement of the raise was made Aug. 27.
Then, on Aug. 28, the same scouter who announced the de Vri/di Vris raise came forward and announced a $50,000 raise for Dreim. The average raise amount is $5,000-$20,000, but a $50,000 raise is not unheard of.
Still, Dreim's raise is the eighth largest ever for a Feast Fest chef, and de Vri/di Vris's $469,000 raise smashed FF records. The amount of the raise coupled with its proximity to the di Vris/de Vri raise and the fact that both raises were announced by the same scouter led to the opening of an independent investigation.
In a private meeting room, Event Manager William Vanderbilt, his seconds-in-command, Executive Assistants Arthur Ayeiy and Willa Pulman, and several other executives grilled Dreim. After a five-hour session, Dreim burst out of the room in anger and threatened resignation.
But, "the resignation threat from Mr. Dreim only heightens our suspicions," Ayeiy said.
Vanderbilt's team is scheduled to meet again with Dreim Wednesday.
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