HOLLAND - Todd Van Wieren, executive chef of the Haworth Inn and Conference Center at Hope College, has been named "Chef of the Year" by the Greater Grand Rapids chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF).

He was recognized during the "Grand Culinary Affair" held at Grand Rapids Community College on Tuesday, Jan. 25, which was sponsored by the chapter and "Grand Rapids Magazine" to recognize the restaurants presented with 2004 dining awards by the publication as well as the top chefs, educators, students and other culinary professionals honored by the chapter. The winners are also highlighted in an article in the February 2005 issue of the magazine.

The "Chef of the Year" award recognizes an outstanding culinarian who works and cooks in a full-service dining facility, who has demonstrated the highest standard of culinary skills, and has given back to the profession through the development of students and apprentices.

Van Wieren, a Certified Executive Chef, is the original chef of the Haworth Inn and Conference Center. He joined the staff in the fall of 1996, even before the building opened. He is employed by Creative Dining Services, the management company that oversees Hope's hospitality program.

He manages a kitchen staff of 20 full- and part-time employees. The Haworth Center kitchen prepares meals for conferees at the center year-round, as well as for students who dine in the student dining room during school-year weekdays.

Van Wieren has worked in the food service industry for more than 26 years, starting as a dishwasher at age 13 and working his way up. He has spent the last 18 years working in full-service hotels and conference centers.

He is on the Creative Dining Services Corporate Chefs Council and is an instructor for Creative University, which is the corporate training program of Creative Dining Services. He also works on the Chefs Advisory Panel of the UBF Foodsolutions Research and Development department, helping to test new products.

Van Wieren has been with the Greater Grand Rapids chapter of the ACF for 12 years. He spent three years as the chapter's grant and scholarship chairperson, and is currently the certification chairperson and the competition chairperson. He is also an official ACF Practical Test examiner, serving his apprenticeship under the guidance of Certified Master Chef Steve Jilleba.

Van Wieren has received multiple medals and awards. Recent honors include a silver medal in the ACF Contemporary Competition held in Grand Rapids in 2004; a bronze medal in the ACF Two-Man Mystery Basket held in Grand Rapids in 2004; a bronze medal in the ACF Contemporary Competition held in Milwaukee, Wis., in 2004; a silver medal in the ACF Contemporary Competition held in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 2003; second place in the International Chili Society's "ChiliBlast 2003"; and a silver medal in the ACF Contemporary Competition held in Columbus, Ohio, in 2003.

A West Michigan native, he graduated from Saugatuck High School in 1983 and from the Grand Rapids Community College culinary arts program in 1987, and did additional coursework at Davenport College. He and his family live in Glenn.

The Haworth Inn and Conference Center has 50 hotel rooms, and the center's meeting and banquet facilities total approximately 10,000 square feet and can accommodate groups of up to 350 people. The center is located at 225 College Avenue, between Ninth and 10th streets.

The center is named in recognition of a combined corporate-family donation to Hope College by Haworth Inc. and the Haworth family. The college celebrated the center's grand opening with a ribbon-cutting on Jan. 21, 1997.

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