PORTLAND, Ore. - (Business Wire) Chef Kirk Iverson of Adventist Medical Center’s Garden Café has been named Oregon Chef of the Year by the Chef de Cuisine Society of Oregon (CCSO), a chapter of the American Culinary Federation. The CCSO annual award recognizes outstanding culinary professionals who cook in full-service dining facilities. Iverson has served as the executive chef for Adventist Health’s Garden Café for more than 16 years. The café is one of Portland, Ore.’s largest vegetarian restaurants, serving an average of 350 people each day. "Chef Iverson has demonstrated the highest standard of culinary skill and we’re very pleased to see his work recognized," said Lyndee Lawrence, director of hospitality services for Adventist Medical Center. "In addition to coordinating the preparation of exceptional, high quality food for our patients, employees and community, Chef Iverson is dedicated to helping coworkers develop their culinary and management skills."
Adventist Medical Center's Garden Café ,which is open to the community, is best known for its full service vegetarian cuisine, including a made to order breakfast menu, sandwich grill, salad bar and host of additional dining options.
Iverson was first introduced to full-service cooking by a hospital chef who saw potential in him while he was working as a dishwasher at Portland Sanitarium and Hospital during high school. Following high school, Iverson attended both Walla Walla College and Mt. Hood College. He later went on to graduate from the Western Culinary Institute.
Iverson has more than 36 years of culinary experience, including working as a chef, food service manager, and hosting numerous special events for civic and community leaders. He joined the ACF Chefs de Cuisine Society in 2002, became a certified executive chef in 2003 and has served as CCSO’s secretary since 2003.
A Portland, Ore., resident, Iverson is the father of five and grandfather of one. In his spare time he enjoys backpacking, off-road motorcycle riding and home remodeling projects.
About ACF Chefs de Cuisine Society of Oregon Inc.
ACF Chefs de Cuisine Society of Oregon Inc. is a non-profit chapter of the American Culinary Federation, established in 1950. Membership is made up of chefs, purveyors and students dedicated to the profession of food preparation, hospitality, fine dining, competition and certification. The organization’s goals and objectives are achieved through community projects, volunteerism and reaching out to all those connected with the food industry. For more information please visit: www.acforegonchefs.org.
About Adventist Medical Center
Adventist Medical Center (AMC), located in southeast Portland, Ore., is a nonprofit, 302-bed acute care facility, offering a full range of inpatient, outpatient and emergency services throughout the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. The faith-based health system prides itself on providing care you can have faith in and is home to the Northwest Regional Heart Center (NRHC), respected nationally for their care of cardiac patients.
Adventist Medical Center is part of Adventist Health, a not-for-profit, faith-based health system operating in California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Founded on the Seventh-day Adventist heritage of Christian health care, Adventist Health is comprised of 18 hospitals with more than 2,800 beds, nearly 18,000 employees, numerous clinics and outpatient facilities, the largest system of rural health clinics in California, 15 home care agencies and three joint-venture retirement centers with a fourth on the way. For more information, visit www.adventisthealthnw.com or www.adventisthealth.org.
Adventist Health
Judy Leach, Director, 503-251-6162
leachjl@ah.org
or
LANE PR
Shannon Riggs, 503-546-7885
shannon@lanepr.com
