Culinary excellence and empowering our people for success are deeply rooted in our values and goals for Aramark Workplace Experience Group. Aramark has kicked off the return of our Aramark Culinary Excellence (ACE) Competition. ACE is our culinary competition using American Culinary Federation (ACF) standards to showcase our Chefs and celebrate Aramark’s culinary talent.
On May 17, Workplace Experience Group held our National ACE competition in New York City. Eight chefs who had advanced from our regional competition prepared a decadent four-course meal for a panel of judges.
We are thrilled to announce and support our winners who will advance to the Enterprise Finals at Aramark Headquarters in Philadelphia, October 16–17, and will compete against other lines of business culinarians.
Drum roll, please … Congratulations to our National Champion, Doug Husentiza!
Chef Doug from Lutz, Florida, is Executive Chef at Mettler Toledo. Chef Doug performed exceptionally and used 100% of his ingredients, despite facing multiple obstacles throughout the competition. Chef Doug slipped and hurt his knee mid-competition, causing him to spill part of his dish. He had to work through technical problems and had parts of his dish that did not turn out according to plan. Chef Doug turned these obstacles into motivation and powered through the remainder of the competition. Read below to learn more about Chef Doug and all his hard work that went into winning this competition.
- Who (or what) has had the most influence on your culinary career?
- Chef Doug has a mentor back in culinary school, a French chef who truly gave him a base foundation in French cuisine. He has had many general managers, chefs, and business owners serve as mentors who have invested time in him and taught him not just cooking skills but how to treat people. They allowed him to develop his skills and gave him the mentality of lifelong learning.
- What is your philosophy in the kitchen?
- Make everything from scratch as much as possible and have as much fun as you work hard.
- How do you define your cooking style?
- Chef Doug describes himself as a conceptual cooker. He masters the concept of cuisine and learns enough about each type to be dangerous. Whether brewing his own beer or baking artisan bread, he is a jack of all trades.
- What does this win mean to you?
- Chef Doug expressed how much this win means to him because he spent day and night preparing for this event. He put his heart and soul into it and dedicated himself to mastering his craft. Doug came in 2nd place in the ACE Regional round. After Regionals, he took the input and advice he was given and applied it to his work. He spent his time practicing, analyzing, and mastering new and old cooking techniques to prepare himself for the competition. Even though he was prepared to take his experience as the win, Chef Doug knew deep down that he wanted to score his best.
We would also like to congratulate our 2nd place champion Sarah DeRuyter, and 3rd place champion Matthew Garelick.
Chef Sarah is an Orange County, California–based Chef who has honed her skills in various cuisines since her early days in the culinary industry. With a passion for creating traditional flavors with a modern twist, she has developed her niche in fusion cuisine. Now Executive Chef at the Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, California, Chef Sarah has taken her passion for food experiences and focused on bridging the gap between the sustenance of the body and the soul of food.
Chef Matthew is a passionate hospitality professional with over 20 years of industry experience. After graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans, a city with a vibrant food culture, Chef Matthew returned home to New York, where he took his expertise to various positions at notable restaurants. Chef Matthew is happy to be back at Citi 388, leading the culinary operations at the Executive Dining Room and Client Center.
We are proud of all our talented participants and look forward to discovering this year’s champions, who embody our theme, "Best has no boundaries!"
