Twenty-three graduates honed their skills in the Academy’s Culinary Arts program, and eight completed the Baking and Pastry program. Six students received short-term specialization certificates in Baking and Pastry, Hot Food and Food Service Management.
The awards ceremony was held in the college’s Walter Edge Theater on the Mays Landing Campus, and honored the graduates with gold, silver or bronze medals or certificates based on their grade point averages and criteria established by the American Culinary Federation. Specialization graduates received certificates of completion. A reception at Careme’s, the on-campus, student-run gourmet restaurant, followed the ceremony.
Tayler Reed of Egg Harbor Township was named valedictorian and winner of the Nathan Schwartz Award, which is presented to the top student of each graduating class. The keynote speaker was ACA graduate Chef Terence Feury ’88, executive chef, Tavro Thirteen in Swedesboro. Feury has experience in some of the East Coast’s best kitchens, including: Le Bernardin in New York City, the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., and Striped Bass, Fork and American Bistro in Philadelphia. Feury has been recognized as “Best Chef in 2010” by Philadelphia Magazine and he received a James Beard Award nomination for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic in 2002.
Honorees, their hometowns (by county) and their awards are:
Nick Bates, Galloway—Certificate, Culinary Arts
Kelsey Beck, Galloway—Silver, Baking and Pastry
Katelyn Blose, Egg Harbor City—Certificate, Baking and Pastry Specialization
Mancini Brown, Egg Harbor Township—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Abigail Dell’Aringa, Mays Landing—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Ricardo Edwards, Pleasantville—Certificate, Culinary Arts
Wendy Hassel, Egg Harbor City—Certificate, Hot Food Specialization
Nicole Kacsoh, Egg Harbor City—Certificate, Food Service Management Specialization
Tayler Reed, Egg Harbor Township—Gold, Baking and Pastry
Storm Reitzel, Egg Harbor Township—Certificate, Baking and Pastry Specialization
Nicole Ruiz, Pleasantville—Certificate, Baking and Pastry
Samantha Wyld, Sweetwater—Bronze, Baking and Pastry
Kristopher Frazier, Marlton—Silver, Baking and Pastry
Joshua Crump, Atco—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Samantha Knowlton, Cherry Hill—Silver, Baking and Pastry
Jacob Lucas, Clementon—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Blaise Masciantonio, Laurel Springs—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Rachel Ridgway, Westmont—Certificate, Culinary Arts
Paul Blackwell, Strathmere—Certificate, Culinary Arts
Emilio Ferrante, Cape May—Certificate, Baking and Pastry Specialization
Erin McManamy, Ocean City—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Kaitlin Miller, North Wildwood—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Michael Newport, Ocean City—Silver, Culinary Arts
Carolyn Jones, Millville—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Brian Brown, Williamstown—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Luis Coyotecatl, Bellmawr—Silver, Culinary Arts
John Lowe, Deptford—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Christina Martin, Williamstown—Silver, Culinary Arts
Angelina Pino, Franklinville—Silver, Culinary Arts
Joshua Romano, Glassboro—Silver, Culinary Arts
Ashley Simmons, Williamstown—Bronze, Culinary Arts
Christopher Brown, Manahawkin—Certificate, Culinary Arts
Michelle Dellaperute, Little Egg Harbor—Silver, Baking and Pastry
Carmen Hernandez, Lakehurst—Silver, Baking and Pastry and Hot Food Specialization
Michael Pillar, Toms River—Silver, Culinary Arts
Christopher Wilson, Warren Grove—Bronze, Culinary Arts
The ACA has been training future chefs for more than 30 years. Academy graduates can be found in kitchens around the world in major hotel and restaurant chains, while others have gone on to open their own restaurants and catering businesses. For more information about the Academy of Culinary Arts, call 1-800-645‑CHEF, emailaccadmit@atlantic.edu, or visit the ACA online at www.atlantic.edu/aca.
