2012 Celebrity Chef Invitational marked 20th anniversary

This year marks the 40th anniversary of UAA's Culinary Arts program, and on its heels is the 20th anniver­sary of the depart­ment's signature annual benefit event, the Celebrity Chef Invitational, held last month on Sept. 19. For this year's milestone occasion, the program welcomed Alaska's own Kirsten Dixon, award-win­ning chef and food writer from Within the Wild, Alaskan Adventure Lodges. Serving under her for the event were five student teams (one per course on the menu), each headed by two culinary arts alumni. As always, the Celebrity Chef Invitational raised funds to provide scholarship opportunities to students and for maintenance of state-of-the-art learning facilities while showcasing UAA's talented Culinary Arts and Hospi­tality students to key players in Alaska's hospitality industry. This year's event welcomed 272 attendees, involved 15 alumni total, and raised $39,000 in scholarship funds.