Two U.S. chefs will face off against some of the best culinary talent in the world during the Worldchefs Global Chefs Challenge and Hans Bueschkens Young Chefs Challenge, July 2 to 5, in Stavanger, Norway. The competitions take place during the World Association of Chefs Societies (Worldchefs) 2014 congress.
Scott Ryan, CEC, AAC, executive chef, The Country Club, Pepper Pike, Ohio, will compete in the Global Chefs Challenge World Finals held July 3. Reilly Meehan, co-owner of Bespoke Doughnuts, San Francisco, will compete in the Hans Bueschkens Young Chefs Challenge finals July 5. Both chefs competed in Worldchefs regional semifinals held in Las Vegas, July 2013, to win the right to represent the Americas region in the final global competitions.
Ryan and Meehan have been practicing their competition dishes for almost a year in preparation for the challenge. They will compete against semifinalist chefs representing the Worldchefs regions of Asia, Africa/Middle East, Pacific Rim, Europe North, Europe Central, and Europe South.
Ryan, an ACF-certified Executive Chef (CEC), has more than 20 years of culinary experience. Since age 15, he has worked his way up through various kitchens and eventually enrolled in the culinary-arts program at Oakland Community College, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. After earning his associate degree, he worked as executive sous chef at Country Club of Detroit, Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. He has since worked at Paint Creek Cider Mill, Oakland Township, Michigan, and Bloomfield Open Hunt Club, Bloomfield Hills. Ryan is an avid competitor, and he has received many honors, including ACF Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association’s 2008 Chef of the Year and ACF Cleveland Chapter Inc.’s 2011 Chef of the Year. In 2012, he was named U.S.A.’s Chef of the Year. Ryan is a member of ACF Cleveland Chapter Inc.
Meehan knew he wanted to be a chef since the day he stepped into the kitchen of his father’s restaurant in Santa Cruz, California, at age 14. He worked there throughout high school and received a scholarship to attend Professional Culinary Institute (PCI), Campbell, California. At PCI, Meehan joined the school’s student hot-food team and continued to compete after transferring to Oregon Coast Culinary Institute, Coos Bay, Oregon. In September 2011, he won first place in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Jeunes Commis Competition in Istanbul, Turkey, and in 2012, he was named ACF Student Chef of the Year. He was a member of 2012 ACF Culinary Youth Team USA that competed in the 2012 Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung (IKA), commonly referred to as the “culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany. Meehan is an ACF national member.
The Global Chefs Challenge and Young Chefs Challenge are held every two years during the Worldchefs biennial congress to highlight the talent of chefs and students from over 90 countries. Two U.S. student chefs won the world finals Young Chefs Challenge in 2008 and 2012.
