May 9, 2008

Campbell’s Top Chef

By Jeanne C. Carbone
Editor

Great chefs take risks and Campbell’s Pro-fessional Culinary In-stitute recent grad Kevin O’Connor is no exception.

SCOY Kevin O’Connor looks forward to a successful career as a chef. Photo courtesy of ACF

And for those risks, O’Connor was asked to compete in the annual American Culinary Federation [ACF] 2008 Western Regional Con-ference Regional Student in Salt Lake City April 19-21. A select group of over 400 chefs were asked to attend the event themed “Achieving Culinary Excellence: Culti-vate, Innovate, Educate.” O’Connor was asked to compete in the highly anticipated Regional Student Culinarian of the Year. He prepared chicken on the breastbone with morel mushrooms, fresh pearl onions, pureed carrot and potatoes in one hour. He was competing against three other chefs.

“Culinary competitions are so important; their future depends on how much they put into it,” said ACF Western Regional Vice President Harry Bockwell, CEC, AAC and owner of Oceanside Caterers, West-lake Village, Calif. “Kevin made a very important decision to compete and the experience and practice will enhance his culinary car-eer.”

Besides the competitions, ACF Western Regional Conference combined educational opportunities like Global Flavors and Your Menu, Molecular Gastro-nomy and Foods of the Titanic; business seminars like Becoming a Personal Professional Chef or the Investing Chef; and forums and cutting-edge demonstrations. There was also a trade show for foodservice exhibi-tors to showcase their latest culinary products.

ACF Professional Develop-ment Program presented an opportunity for attendees to augment their overall knowledge and skill base discussing the latest culinary teaching methods, nutrition, food safety and sanitation, supervision practices, business management and lifestyle enrichment.

“I came in second but it was a great experience,” said O’Connor, 24. “The best thing was the exposure and meeting some famous chefs. And it was fun.”

O’Connor’s interest in cooking started when his two Italian grandmothers’s cooked pasta at the family home in Willow Glen. By the time he attended Mitty High School O’Connor knew he wanted to be a chef and “take it to the next level.” He attended San Diego State University and received a degree in business and marketing.

He graduated from the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell where they urged him to enter the competition at the ACF Western Regional Conference in an essay where he presented his philosophy of food and views of classic techniques. At the present time, he is lead cook with Bon Appetite at the Google campus. And he’s looking forward to attending the Culinary Olympics in Germany this October.

O’Connor is classically trained and says is favorite item to cook is duck, foie gras, confit, or “any duck product.” But when he’s cooking a big family meal at home in Willow Glen he says there is nothing like a big pot of bolognaise sause and pasta.