UAA's Celebrity Chef Invitational 2009 hosts acclaimed chef John Besh

Acclaimed Chef John Besh was the highlight of the 17th Annual Celebrity Chef Invitational at UAA's Lucy Cudy Dining Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 16. Chef Besh served a Southern-inspired menu to a host of local aficionados.

The Celebrity Chef Invitational is a fundraiser that showcases UAA's talented Culinary Arts and Hospitality students to key players in Alaska's hospitality industry. The funds raised provide scholarship opportunities to students and provides for maintenance of state-of-the-art learning facilities. This year's event raised $114,000.

The event brought in approximately 300 people from many of the program's corporate sponsors, including the First National Bank Alaska, Food Services of America, Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, Downtown Marriott, and Linford of Alaska. Local Team Chefs heading up courses are Chef Eric DuBey, Glacier Brewhouse; Chef Elizabeth Fackler, AVTEC; Chef Travis Haugen, Southside Bistro; Chef Brett Knipmeyer, Kinley's; and Chef Kevin Tubbs, Executive Chef/Consultant.

Chef Besh grew up in southern Louisiana and has set the benchmark for fine dining in New Orleans. Each of his four successful restaurants (Restaurant August, Besh Steak, Lüke and La Provence) celebrate the bounty and traditions of the region, and two more, well on the way (Domenica and The American Sector), are poised to follow suit.

Besh is dedicated to the culinary riches of Louisiana, preserving and promoting ingredients, techniques, and heritage one mouth-watering dish at a time. Besh's talent and drive have earned him continuous kudos from the outset of his career: from Food & Wine's "Top 10 Best New Chefs in America" to Gourmet's "Guide to America's Best Restaurants," and "America's Top 50 Restaurants."

The Culinary Arts and Hospitality programs are a part of UAA's Community and Technical College. The Hospitality and Restaurant Management program offers students the opportunity to acquire the business management skills and hospitality finesse needed to develop a career in the expanding hotel and restaurant industries. The Culinary Arts program provides essential training in the ever-expanding food-service industry.

According to UAA's Culinary Arts Web site, hospitality and tourism are two of the world's leading industries, and are the largest retail employers in the United States. Approximately one in 12 people are employed by these industries in the U.S. alone.

Click here to read a report of the event by The Northern Light.