ACF Monterey Bay Chefs in the community

We are excited to share that UC Merced has received the Silver Award for Catering Special Event of the Year from NACUFS for our Chancellor’s Associates dinner featuring Chef Ed Porter and his film The Food That Fuels. This event was a powerful collaboration that highlighted Central Valley farmers, sustainable sourcing, and the culinary excellence […]

The ACF Monterey Bay celebrates the incredible work of Chef Siska Silitonga (@chilicali), who brought bold Indonesian flavors to UC Merced for a special Women’s History Month event featuring Shannon Lee (@therealshannonlee) of the Bruce Lee Foundation. Chef Siska’s dishes highlighted the vibrant culinary traditions of Indonesia, perfectly complementing an evening dedicated to legacy, resilience, […]

We had an incredible event at UC Merced celebrating Latin Heritage Month, KUDOS to UC Merced Dining Executive Sous Chef and Monterey Bay ACF member, Jonathan Gutierrez Santiago for organizing  and hosting the event.   Dr. Claudia Serrato, a renowned Indigenous culinary anthropologist and chef, was our guspeaker. Dr. Serrato’s work focuses on the preservation […]

We are thrilled to announce that Chef EJ and Chef Jonathan, both esteemed members of the Monterey Bay American Culinary Federation, have been recognized at this week’s IFPA Conference with the Produce in Excellence Foodservice awards. Their dedication to culinary excellence and commitment to using fresh, local produce has set a shining example in the […]

We are proud to share that members of the Monterey Bay ACF Chapter played a crucial role in UC Merced Dining winning a Silver Award in Outreach and Education at this year’s NACUFS (National Association of College & University Food Services) conference! The award will be presented at the NACUFS Conference on July 17th in Louisville, […]

Chef Mitch was honored to have received a Staff Excellence Award in the area of Equity, Justice and Inclusive Excellence this year @ucmerced! Shout out to @ucm_ejie for the collaboration and support with the guest speaker series! Much gratitude to @ucm_staffassembly for their hard work and dedication! Thank you to all the wonderful speakers who […]

We are extremely proud to share that UC Merced’s very own, Executive Sous Chef, Jonathan Gutierrez Santiago was recently named this year’s Colleges and Universities Winner for the 2024 Produce Excellence in Food Service Awards by the International Fresh Produce Association. He will probably hate that I used this pic. LOL! Chef Jonathan’s accomplishments are […]

We’re excited to share that the team led by Executive Sous Chef at UC Merced and Monterey Bay Chef member Jonathan Gutierrez Santiago won this year’s Chef Cook Off at the annual CASA Fresno Madera fundraiser. It was a competitive field of 6 other Central Valley Chefs with voting done by guests at the event. […]

This Article is from UC Merced – In The News Mitchell Vanagten, executive chef for UC Merced’s Lakeside Catering , has been named Chef of the Year by the Monterey Bay chapter of the American Culinary Federation. The award from the chapter, of which Vanagten is vice president, recognizes members for exceptional community service and […]