The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has announced the recipients of the 2014 Augies leadership awards. This year’s theme is “The Power of Food.” The awards will be presented at a gala dinner on Thursday, April 24 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.
Created in honor of famed French chef Auguste Escoffier, the Augie Awards celebrate success and achievement of the foodservice industry's best chefs, visionaries, and entrepreneurs. Augie recipients exemplify a tradition of innovation and leadership. The life’s work of each of this year’s honorees embodies the thought-leadership pillars that drive the college’s educational direction.
The 2014 recipients are:
- Jean-Georges Vongerichten, chef/owner of Jean-Georges Restaurants, for Professional Excellence and Innovation
- Hamdi Ulukaya, founder and CEO of Chobani, Inc., for Health and Wellness
- Masaharu Morimoto, chef/owner of Morimoto Restaurants, for World Cuisines and Cultures
- Leo Oosterveer, CEO of Unilever Food Solutions, for Sustainability and Food Ethics
These four pillars are reflected in many ways on all CIA campuses. Through the development of its curricula, study abroad programs, conferences, research, and the diversity of its student body andfaculty, the college has helped transform the image and status of professionally trained chefs and expanded the depth and diversity of their knowledge. With new programs, concentrations, and award- winning restaurants, where students gain real-world experience, the CIA continues to challenge the young chef’s creative development in culinary and baking and pastry arts as well as in culinary science. CIA conferences and professional retreats foster collaboration among foodservice professionals, public health experts, scientists, and policymakers in areas that include salt reduction, childhood obesity, and school food programs. Through all of this, the bottom-line is a shared conviction that food has considerable power in all aspects of life.
Throughout the evening, the audience of 600 foodservice business leaders, celebrated chefs, culinary entrepreneurs, and CIA supporters from all sectors will hear more about the power of food from the Augie recipients and more than two dozen CIA students who will assist during the event.
“As flavor experts, innovators, researchers, and socially responsible culinarians, today’s chefs are using traditional methods and ultra-modern techniques to harness the power of food in order to make the world a healthier, more interconnected place,” says Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA.
Attendees at the Leadership Awards dinner will be encouraged to continue the conversation on Twitter using #CIAPowerofFood.
Tickets are available at www.ciachef.edu/awards. Funds raised through ticket sales and a silent auction go towards scholarships for CIA students.
