Chef instructor Erin Reed shares what it was like to compete for and win the title of American Culinary Federation Pastry Chef of the Year and what the award means for Academy of Culinary Arts students.
Watch the video Sweet! Reed’s Desserts Chosen as Best in National Competition.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Academy of Culinary Arts Chef Instructor Erin Reed is the American Culinary Federation 2024 Pastry Chef of the Year.
The Pastry Chef of the Year award is the American Culinary Federation’s highest honor, which “proves skill, knowledge, and professionalism in the culinary industry and recognizes a pastry chef who has displayed a passion for the craft, has an accomplished reputation in the pastry field, and has helped educate others by sharing skills and knowledge.” The ACF is the largest professional chef organization in North America.
Chef Reed, who joined the Academy of Culinary Arts as a chef instructor in 2018, earned three degrees from IUP: a master’s degree in education; a master’s degree in education, training, and instructional technology; and a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management. She is also a graduate of the IUP Academy of Culinary Arts program and advanced baking and pastry program.
Her gold medal was presented at the ACF National Convention President’s Gala event on July 17 in Arizona. The competition, judged by a panel of master chefs, was held on July 16. Chef Reed qualified for the competition after her March Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year win.
The timed competition, which required chefs to create and present two dishes—one hot and one cold—had an extensive set of rules, including required ingredients. Chef Reed prepared a white peach rare cheesecake and an Illanka chocolate souffle tart.
“We are very proud of Chef Reed, who is both an outstanding chef and inspiring chef educator and mentor to our students,” Chef Lynn Pike, Hospitality and Employment Relations Department assistant chair, said.
“This is one of the most prestigious and difficult competitions in the nation, judged by internationally known master chefs, under very vigorous conditions. ACF is ‘the’ authority on food, so Chef Reed’s gold medal is national validation of the quality of our program and our chef instructors. The staff and students at the Academy are over the moon proud of her and so excited about the positive national recognition it brings to the program, including to alumni of the program,” Chef Pike said.
“It was a great experience,” Chef Reed said. “I love the Academy, so I am very proud to represent IUP at this competition and to bring home a gold medal,” she said. “I hope that this brings more recognition to the Academy of Culinary Arts and can help to inspire current and prospective students.
“I had outstanding support from everyone at the Academy and I am very grateful,” Chef Reed said. “Former interim dean Lynann Black provided financial support for travel costs, and my students helped me practice for the competition as taste testers, watchers, and setting up and helping me clean up my equipment,” Chef Reed said. “I think the students really learned a lot and enjoyed being part of my preparation.
“The Academy class schedule is very rigorous,” Chef Reed said. “We are always in the kitchen with our students. Preparing for this competition and having students involved, including participating in my summer dessert special project when they have a chance to develop their own recipes, helps to keep me sharp as a professional and be current with the industry, which benefits our students,” she said.
Alumni of the Academy of Culinary Arts also played a role in helping Chef Reed at the competition—she borrowed equipment from a 2007 classmate, Bryan Gorton, the executive chef at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa.
“In addition to following a number of requirements, chefs had to bring their own equipment for the competition,” Chef Reed said. “Kala Vargo, a member of the Academy staff, and recent Academy graduate Genna Chakot, of Indiana, traveled with me and provided incredible support, including helping with cleanup after the competition.”
Chef Reed competed against two other regional competition winners for the national competition.
“There is definitely a comradery between competitors, and it was also a positive to have all three competitors be female—it was a chance for us to encourage one another as women; a majority of professionals in the baking and pastry field are men, including the competition judges,” she said.
Prior to coming “back” to the Academy as an instructor, Chef Reed, of Punxsutawney, worked as the executive pastry chef at the Michelin Star Park Hyatt and Blue Duck Tavern; at the DBGB Kitchen and Bar; at Buddakan, Starr Restaurants; at the Lorien Hotel and Spa, Brebo by Robert Weidmaier, the Morrison House, Jackson 20; as a pastry sous chef at Marcel’s by Robert Weidmaier; as a pastry assistant at Morimoto, Starr Restaurants; and as a pastry cook at Continental Midtown, Starr Restaurants; and at the Broadmoor, Penrose Room.
She holds a number of certifications, including certified culinary educator and certified executive pastry chef. In addition to her Pastry Chef of the Year award, she is a 2023 IUP College of Health and Human Services Hall of Distinction Award winner, was named Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation’s Groundhog Chapter, and was named to the Top 25 Hotel Pastry Chefs in 2018 and to the 34 Under 34: DC’s Hottest Restaurant Industry Pros in 2017. Her recipes have also been honored in publications, including Most Creative Desserts in DC Modern Luxury and Must-Try Fall Desserts Around DC by Zagat.
She was selected for membership in Phi Kappa Phi honor society and is treasurer of the local Groundhog Chapter of the ACF. She is a former member of the Le Dames d’Escoffier, an international philanthropic organization.
She has organized the annual Academy of Culinary Arts cookie competition and several fundraisers for the Academy, including Bakers Against Racism Summer Cookie Box. She was a National ProStart Invitational Judge and Pennsylvania ProStart Competition Judge, serving as lead judge for the cake decorating competition. She has led continuing education workshops for instructors, has been a speaker for Pennsylvania ProStart workshops, and has volunteered for a number of community fundraising events benefiting Indiana Regional Medical Center and the Indiana Public Library.
About the Academy of Culinary Arts Program
The 16-month program offered at the Academy of Culinary Arts, located in Punxsutawney, is nationally recognized and accredited by the American Culinary Federation. After completing a final semester at a paid externship, graduates earn a certificate in culinary arts and can also complete a separate baking and pastry program through the Academy.
The Baking and Pastry Arts program became a stand-alone program in 2019 to allow for additional growth in this program. Academy of Culinary Arts graduates of either the Culinary Arts program or the Baking and Pastry Arts program are eligible to complete an associate degree in Culinary Arts with an additional semester of study at IUP Punxsutawney. Students who successfully complete the Culinary Arts or the Baking and Pastry Arts program also have the option to apply up to 38 credits toward a bachelor of science degree in hospitality management at IUP or 32 credits toward a bachelor of science degree in nutrition. Admission into the nutrition track is guaranteed for culinary graduates.
Graduates can also apply 21 credits toward a bachelor of science degree in education with a major in K–12 family and consumer sciences. Graduates of the program can choose to take advantage of applying their credits toward any of these bachelor’s degree options any time within 10 years after culinary graduation.
In March 2022, IUP’s Council of Trustees approved the Academy of Culinary Arts long-range facilities plan, which includes construction of a new, 45,000-square-foot educational and multipurpose commercial facility to be sited in downtown Punxsutawney next to current Academy facilities at the Fairman Centre to provide new opportunities for increased enrollment.
