The Gladwyne, Pa. club’s Executive Pastry Chef, Nguyet Nguyen, CPC, will now advance to the American Culinary Federation’s National Competition, to vie for the organization’s title as Pastry Chef of the Year.
Nguyet Nguyen, CPC, Executive Pastry Chef at Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne, Pa., has won the Northeast Region of the American Culinary Federation’s ACF Pastry Chef of the Year Competition. Nguyen will now advance to the National Competition for the ACF Pastry Chef of the Year Award in August in Orlando, Fla.
Nguyen defeated Keri Anderson, CEPC, in the Northeast Region semi-finals; Anderson is the Pastry Chef at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
The competition took place at Atlantic Cape Community College in Hamilton, N.J. on February 23rd. The semi-finalists were required to make a “Hot/Warm Plated Dessert” within one hour, and an additional 10 minutes was allowed for plating.
Nguyen’s winning recipe was a Warm Pineapple Brown Butter Tart topped with Caramelized Pineapple and Hibiscus Foam, paired with Ginger Ice Cream and decorated with fresh Raspberry Sauce, Dark Chocolate Ganache and a delicate tuile cookie.
“Everything is possible if you are willing to practice, fine tune and hone your skills and be prepared for any challenge you face,” said Fritz Gitschner, CMC, Executive Chef of Philadelphia CC. “And Nguyet actually adopted that philosophy to be successful.”
Other club pastry chefs who advanced to the semi-finals of this year’s competition included Leslie Davis, Executive Pastry Chef of Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. and Ryse Swanson of Walnut Creek Country Club in South Lyon, Mich. (both in the Central region).
The national title was taken by a club chef in 2018, when William Racin, CEPC, of The Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, took home Pastry Chef of the Year honors.
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