Kathleen Kessler Named American Culinary Federation’s Pastry Chef of the Year

Kathleen Kessler, pastry chef at Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, has received the American Culinary Federation, Inc., (ACF) Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year Award at the 2008 ACF Northeast Regional Conference held at the hotel April 5-7.

Sponsored by Splenda®, the 2008 ACF Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year Award recognizes a pastry chef who has displayed a passion for the craft, has an accomplished reputation in the pastry field and has given back through the education of others by sharing his or her skills and knowledge. As this year’s Northeast Region recipient, Kessler will compete for the national title against the winners from the three other regions at the 2008 ACF National Convention in Las Vegas, July 14-17.

Kessler, a member of ACF Greater Cincinnati Chapter, graduated at the top of her class from The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., in 1996. Before joining the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza staff, she worked as baking and pastry chef instructor at New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt., and held several pastry-chef positions, including at Twin Farms, Barnard, Vt., a Mobil five-star property.

Throughout her career, Kessler has received numerous culinary awards. She was named Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza’s Manager of the Quarter in 2006, was Cincinnati Magazine’s Dessert Diva in 2006, and recipient of the Katharine Angell Award from The Culinary Institute of America, 1996.

The Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, a AAA Four-Diamond hotel, is one of the world’s finest examples of French art deco architecture. Highlights of the art deco include rare Brazilian rosewood walls with German silver-nickel metalwork and lighting, a two-story ceiling in the restaurant featuring large Romanesque murals, and a fountain and two seahorses which are the largest pieces ever created by the famed Rookwood Pottery. The hotel is a charter member of Historic Hotels of America, is a registered National Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places.