2013 Schedule of Demonstrations

Executive Pastry Chef Steven Rujak

Chef Steven Rujak remains one of the most highly decorated pastry chefs in the country. Since winning the National Pastry Chef of the year award in Philadelphia in 2006, Chef Rujak has continued to create masterpieces not only as the Pastry chef at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress, but with his own brand as well, earning Chef Rujaks work some of the highest accolades given to the culinary profession.

Under Chef Steven's own Brand Sweet and Savory Seasons, Chef Steven has created a unique style of designing family-oriented pastry specialties designed for all holiday occasions. Steven's goal is to bring families together by establishing Sweet and Savory traditions for generations to come. His website showcases recipes with incredible photos along with a calendar of events displaying all the chefs live appearances. His live demos are broadcasted through Sweet and Savory TV as a live stream to all internet users and iPhone users as a video stream.

Chef Steven A. Rujak is originally from Weirton, West Virginia where he graduated with his A.A.S. degree in Culinary Arts, from West Virginia Northern Community College. Currently he is beginning his twelfth year at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando where he is the Executive Sous Chef / Executive Pastry Chef. Steven also is a professor at Valencia Community College and has been for eleven years; "I like giving back to the community what I have learned, and I enjoy showing people how effortless it can be to create elaborate cakes and pastries in the comfort of your own home," exclaims Steven.

Among his other accolades he was named Southeast regional pastry chef of the year 2006, and competed at the A.C.F. National convention in Philadelphia, and was awarded the distinctive, National Pastry Chef of the Year.

Another of his greatest accomplishments is his two children, Ethan 7 and Hailey 4, and with the support of his wife Keitha, whom he says could not do any of this without her love and devotion. Chef Rujak is currently working on a series of books entitled Sweet and Savory Seasons, with Steven Rujak.
Check out his website: www.sweetandsavoryseasons.com

World Pastry Champion Donald Wressell

Chef Donald Wressell is a graduate of the Washington State Chef Association Culinary program. His extensive training includes Pastry Chef at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, the Watergate Hotel in Washington D.C. and the Breakers Hotel in Long Beach, California. In 1987 Wressell was named Executive Pastry Chef at the esteemed Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. Working in the heart of Hollywood, Chef Wressell, known for his soft tone and sense of humor, quickly capitalized on the celebrity clientele and is credited with satisfying the sweet tooth of this sophisticated clientele for over nineteen years. One of the highlights during his time at the Four Seasons was making the City of Beverly Hills's 75th Anniversary cake for 10,000 people.

Donald is a true and tough competitor. In 1998 and 1999 he was named Top Ten Pastry Chefs by Chocolatier Pastry Art & Design and in 2003 he was named Southern California's Restaurant Writers Pastry Chef of the Year.

The recipient of Silver and Gold medals in the Grand Salon Culinaire and the winner of second place honors in Les Masters du Chocolate competition in 1995, Chef Wressell has represented the USA four times at the World Cup of Pastry-Le Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie.

In 2001 as team coach and manager, he led the team to the Gold Medal. This Gold Medal win marked the first time in the competition's history that the Gold had been won by the USA team. In January of 2005, he captained the American team to a 2nd Bronze in Lyon, repeating exactly the same feat from 1995.

Named "Pastry Chef of the Year" by the Organizing Committee of the 2005 National Pastry Team Championships, as well as receiving honors at the White House for his work with the US Pastry Team, Chef Wressell loves the day-to-day hands-on-work of the pastry industry. "The reason I got into the business is to make food."

In 2006 Wressell joined San Francisco based Guittard Chocolate Company as their Pastry Chef. "I like working with chocolate and I love the taste and smell of chocolate. It has a warm and magical quality. You take something that is solid and then transform that to another shape. It is amazing to me. In my mind there is no other food that has that quality".

Today his busy schedule includes travel, speaking, competitions and his signature "Guest Chef Series" classes at the Guittard Studio in Los Angeles. And when he finds a quite moment, you can find him in one of his two favorite places-his kitchen or his workshop.

Chef Instructor David Arnold

Chef Arnold is a Chef Instructor at MTI Culinary Arts in Bradenton, Florida. He holds certifications from the American Culinary Federation as a Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and Lead Accredited Culinary Examiner (ACE).

He has been executive chef/operator of two restaurants in Florida, one a fine dining steak and seafood restaurant and the other a beach community bakery and diner. His culinary experience spans from opening and operating a large contemporary restaurant in Orlando to operating General Manager of a Country Club.

He has been classically trained in culinary by the Le Cordon Bleu School with a 4.0 GPA and is a member of Eta Sigma Delta Honor Society. He also has been certified by the State of Florida as a Certified Food Manager, a ServeSafe Course Instructor and holds certifications from the National Restaurant Association in Cost Control, Supervision, Culinary Arts and Advanced Baking & Pastry.

Chef Arnold frequently appears on local and regional television and radio shows promoting the craft of food preparation and has written numerous articles for newspaper and magazines.

More can be found at www.davidarnoldcec.com

Chef Instructor Les Eckert

Chef Les Eckert, in the culinary industry for 19 years, is a Certified Working Pastry Chef and Certified Culinary Educator at The Art Institute of Tampa. Chef Eckert has a BA in Culinary Management and a MBA emphasizing Hospitality Management. She has been an active member of the American Culinary Federation since 1992. Chef Eckert's work experiences include four-star restaurants, her own catering company, a top-rated convention hotel and Publix Apron Cooking Schools. Chef Eckert currently teaches Pastry Art classes for the Baking and Pastry Diploma and Associates Degree programs at The Art Institute of Tampa.

Chef Instructor Melissa Meyer

Chef Melissa Meyer has a passion for baking and pastry arts, as well as the hospitality industry. Melissa attended Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky, where she earned an Associate's Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts, a Bachelor's Degree in Hospitality Management, and a Master's Degree in Business Administration.

After graduating with honors, Melissa worked at Walt Disney World in the production bakery at Hollywood Studios. There she helped make desserts and pastries for every restaurant in the park. She had the privilege to work for Pastry Chefs who have since been featured on The Food Network. After completing her Bachelor's degree, Melissa moved to California and worked at Disneyland, where she managed eight different restaurants and kitchens. She had the honor to manage many special events, her favorite being the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 World Premier which was hosted in New Orleans Square. Melissa eventually returned to Walt Disney World in Florida and worked at the Contemporary Resort where she even helped open the bar and lounge at the new Bay Lake Tower of the resort. Melissa currently teaches Baking and Hospitality classes at The Art Institute of Tampa, as she enjoys sharing her passion for the industry with others. She also teaches classes at The Rolling Pin in Brandon, Florida as a Guest Chef.

Melissa grew up in Ohio, but always knew she wanted to move to Florida. She now lives in the Tampa Bay area, with her husband, Greg. Melissa loves to be outside in the sunshine and some of her favorite activities include kayaking, biking riding, going to the beach, or taking the boat out on the water. Melissa enjoys traveling the world and experiencing the dining and hospitality offerings of different cultures. She has recently traveled to France, Italy, Germany, Greece, and South Africa, tasting desserts all along the way.

Pastry Chef Michelle DeMicco

Michelle has been cake decorating professionally since 1995, she has worked for a number of bakeries, restaurants and catering companies. Her passion for baking probably stems from her great grandfather (Nelse Bendt) who was a master baker from Denmark. After coming to the United States in the early 1900's he successfully opened and ran numerous bakeries in the Mid-West. Michelle is one of the last in the family to continue in the trade and loves it dearly, she hopes to pass the heritage down to her children and one day grandchildren.

Michelle is a cake decorator by trade, she has always had a passion for food and art and found a nice outlet for both with cake decorating. She has been fairly successful in this realm. In 2003 she won 1st place at the International DDBA Cake Decorating Championship (in Las Vegas) and has won many other local competitions as well. In her years of decorating she realized that there is a need for creative expression in the cake world. Many bakeries have set limitations to what they can or will do and that often stifles the opportunity for individual uniqueness.

Pastry Chef Leticia Stovern

Leticia began decorating cakes as a hobby in 1998. Her artistic eye combined with her professional dexterity developed as a spine surgery physician's assistant for 17 years culminated in the opening of Sweet Tweets Cakery, a custom cake and cupcake shop located in Carrollwood. This has only expanded Leticia's opportunity to serve a more varied clientele and create more grand and detailed cake work.

While cake decorating does run in the family--her aunt has been running her own cake shop in Puerto Rico for more than 30 years, Leticia's passion is to transform customer's imaginations into reality in the form of cake. She derives a deep, personal satisfaction in participating in the joy of the special events that her customers celebrate.

Leticia has received training from both Collette Peters and Scott Clark Woolley, both of whom are published masters in creativity and detail. Leticia's artisanship garnered her first place in the 2011 Tampa Festival of Chocolate's Best Cake Design competition.