Press Releases
Chef Bert Cutino, Co-Founder of Sardine Factory, to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
MONTEREY, Calif. - March 13, 2006 - Bert Cutino, CEC, past chairman of the American Academy of Chefs (AAC) and chairman of the Honorary Board of Trustees of the AAC, will be honored on October 8, 2006, with the AAC Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lifetime Achievement Award has only been awarded once in the past, and is the highest award given to any individual for outstanding contribution to the culinary profession and to the future of young culinarians.
The AAC awards ceremony will take place at the renowned Beach & Tennis Club in Pebble Beach, with funds from the event benefiting the scholarship program of the AAC Foundation. Tickets are expected to sell out, with many chefs from around the country attending as well as distinguished individuals from the community. Approximately 170 tickets will be available closer to the event.
Chef Cutino has received many accolades and awards throughout his career. In 1988, he was honored by his peers at the American Culinary Federation (ACF) with the National Chef of the Year award. Since then, Chef Cutino has continued to demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to the culinary profession. He is the former western regional vice president of the ACF, which represents over 20,000 culinarians nationwide. From 1995-1999 he served as chairman of the AAC, the prestigious honor society of the ACF.
A native Californian born in Carmel, Chef Cutino grew up around Cannery Row when it was "The Sardine Capital of the World." He attended local schools, graduating from Monterey Union High School in 1957. He later attended Monterey Peninsula College while working full-time in the hospitality industry. He graduated with a degree in business in 1964, and was later presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award by the California Association of Colleges.
Mr. Cutino began his culinary career at age 13 and has worked in virtually all capacities of the industry. He was in charge of a full-scale restaurant operation by the age of 19, and eventually became co-founder of four award-winning restaurants on the Monterey Peninsula. In 1968, Chef Cutino co-founded the Sardine Factory in Monterey and is currently the restaurant's chief operating officer. In 1988, he received the degree of Doctor of Culinary Arts, Honoris Causa, from Johnson & Wales College.For more information on the world-renowned Sardine Factory, please visit www.sardinefactory.com.
About The Sardine Factory
Established in 1968, The Sardine Factory is known for its impeccable service, wonderful décor, extraordinary wine collection, fresh locally grown produce, delicious sustainable seafood, and USDA prime beef. Over the years The Sardine Factory has hosted celebrities, movie stars, sports legends, and public figures from all over the world. The restaurant was also one of the locations for the first film directed by Clint Eastwood, Play Misty for Me. The Sardine Factory has received virtually every culinary, wine list and service award possible in the industry, including the Wine Spectator’s Grand Award, Restaurant Hospitality's Best Wine List in America, voted the Best Restaurant in Monterey by readers of the Monterey County Weekly, Monterey County Herald, and Carmel Pine Cone newspapers, named Top Ten Most Romantic Restaurants on the Central Coast by Open Table, in addition to many other honors and awards. For more information, please visit sardinefactory.com.