A Brief Look at the History of the ACF

The following timeline is just a snapshot of ACF’s storied 95 years of history. The ACF Past Presidents Committee and other volunteers are collecting more information and materials showcasing ACF history for a complete archive of the federation.

1920s – 1940s

The first American-based culinary organization is formed amid the Great Depression and world wars

1929 – The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), a professional organization for chefs and cooks, is founded in New York.

The mission of ACF has remained steadfast throughout the years: to promote the professional image of American chefs worldwide through education of culinarians at all levels, and above all else, to set the standard of excellence for the culinary industry.

1930 – The first ACF officers, including the late Charles Scotto, HOF, as National president, are elected on Jan. 14. Chef Scotto was an early protégé of the legendary Chef Auguste Escoffier and was once referred to as Escoffier’s “favorite pupil.”

1932 – The first edition of the National Culinary Review is printed and distributed.

1939 – The first Culinary Congress is held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Nov. 6-9. This would be the precursor for the ACF National Convention , though it was much smaller at the time and consisted of chefs from a few different culinary organizations rather than ACF chapters.

1941-1944 – ACF sends food relief packages to those in need in Asia and Europe during WWII.

1950s

Post-war growth and chapter formation

1950 – ACF hosts the first official ACF National Convention in New York City.

1955 – ACF’s subgroups are consolidated into a single national body with separate chapters at the ACF National Convention in Pittsburgh. Also at that convention, the American Academy of Chefs is formed based on a majority vote.

1956 – The ACF Culinary Team USA (formerly known as U.S. Culinary Team) is formed, putting American chefs on the international stage at the IKA/Culinary Olympics for the first time.

1960s – 1970s

Elevating the professional status of chefs and American chef competitors

1972 – ACF Chefs Ferdinand Metz, CMC, AAC, HOF, and Jack F. Braun, CEC, AAC, HOF — with the support of L. Edwin Brown, HAAC, HHOF (who would become the ACF’s first executive director) — develop the first ACF certification program. Six levels of certification are recognized: CEC, CEPC, CCC, CWC, CCE and CMC. Chef Metz also spearheads the implementation of ACF apprenticeship programs after a false start in that effort in the ‘30s.

1960s – 1970s

The first Culinary Congress, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, on Nov. 6-9, 1939.

1976 – After the 1960 and 1964 ACF Culinary Team USA teams score multiple gold medals at the IKA/Culinary Olympics, the watershed moment occurs when the 1976 team, captained by Chef Metz, ties the French team (led by Chef Joel Robuchon) for third place, putting American cuisine firmly on the map.

1977 – ACF forever changes the culinary industry by helping to elevate the position of the executive chef from service/domestic status to the professional category in the U.S. Department of Labor’s Dictionary of Occupational Titles . Since then, U.S. chefs have been recognized as skilled and professional members of the workforce.

“The ACF worked long and hard to raise the position of chefs from that of a mere domestic servant to a skilled professional. Because of ACF’s effort to upgrade the U.S. government’s culinary classification, cooking was no longer reserved for the lazy and the untrained. As a result, cooking became an acknowledged profession.” — ACF Chef Ferdinand Metz, CMC, AAC, HOF

1980s – 1990s

Competition prowess on the national and international stage

The first Certified Master Chef candidates and some of their instructors involved in presenting the program.

1981 – The first Certified Master Chef exam is held in September at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. The exam takes 10 days lasting nearly 14 hours per day; five out of eight chefs earn the title as the first CMCs. Today, there are just under 70 CMCs nationwide.

1982 – ACF opens permanent offices in St. Augustine, Fla. The location was chosen when the city offered a free plot of land on which to build.

1980, 1984, 1988 – ACF Culinary Team USA sets the world record for the most consecutive World Championships in the hot food category at the IKA/Culinary Olympics.

1989 – The ACF Chef & Child Foundation is formed to promote proper nutrition education at elementary schools and in communities across the country.

1992 – ACF Chef Lyde Buchtenkirch becomes the first woman elected to the AAC and the first woman to compete on an IKA competition team. She would later become the first woman to earn the distinguished title of Certified Master Chef.

2000s

ACF certifications, media and brand awareness

2001 – ACF introduces its first-ever five-year strategic plan under ACF Chef Michael Baskette, AAC , the then director of operations.

2004 – Sizzle, ACF’s first magazine for students, is printed.

2004 – ACF’s certification programs grow to include Certified Fundamentals Cook, Certified Culinarian, Certified Pastry Culinarian, Personal Certified Chef, Certified Sous Chef and others.

2010s – Present

Diversity, equity and inclusion become new focal points for the ACF

2016 – The newly formed ACF Women’s Task Force presents its first roundtable discussion at the ACF National Convention in Phoenix, during which topics surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion — not just women’s issues — are discussed.

2016 – At the IKA/Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, ACF Culinary Team USA ranks fourth in the world overall and earns the top score and overall gold medal in culinary art in the cold food competition. The ACF Young Chefs Club is established.

“It takes a lifetime to build a legacy. Young chefs need to be aware of what’s been done before them in order to fully develop their own path. As a young student, I made it my goal to absorb as much as possible from each ACF chef I worked with, including many successful women chef mentors.” — ACF Young Chefs Club President Xiomara Mora-Rivera

ACF Young Chefs Club President Xiomara Mora-Rivera

2017 – ACF Chef Denise S. Graffeo, CEC, AAC, HOF, becomes the first woman elected to the American Academy of Chefs Hall of Fame.

2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily shutters dine-in, causing many restaurants and foodservice businesses to lose funds and close permanently; ACF Chefs are rethinking the way they do business, from offering takeout to switching to virtual learning at the educator level.

2021 – ACF Chef Kimberly Brock Brown, CEPC, CCA, AAC , becomes the first woman of color and first pastry chef elected as ACF National president. Chef Brock Brown brings back the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and creates the Work/Life Balance Task Force during her two-year term.

2021 – ACF Chef Ashten Garrett is the first recipient of the newly created L. Edwin Brown Leadership Award .

2022 – ACF introduces the first Student Pastry Chef of the Year Award under Chef Brock Brown’s leadership, earned by Sarrenity Dickson .

2023 – ACF René Marquis, CEC, CCE, CCA, AAC , becomes the first former military chef elected as ACF National president. He creates the Military, International Chefs Day and Chapters Supporting Chapters Task Forces.