The WSCA presented the 2018 “Chef of the Year” award to Chef JJ Meland CEC, CCA, WCCE of Bates Technical College.

The “Chef of the Year” award is the most prestigious award a culinary professional can receive from The American Culinary Federation (ACF). Chef of the Year is a top honor presented to an individual who has been nominated by their peers and voted by a membership ballot.

The Chef of the Year Award was given at the 2019 Presidents Awards Dinner at the Broadmoor Golf Club. For more info on the dinner, pictures and other rewards given, click here…

The culinary industry has been a part of Maynard (J.J.) Meland’s life since the beginning. He grew up in the kitchen, and since then has worked at many well-known hotels and restaurants including the Marriott, Coast Hotels & Resorts, Silver City Restaurant, and El Gaucho. He graduated from Western Culinary Institute, and has since then been expanding his education by becoming a Certified Executive Chef, Certified Culinary Administrator and a Worldchefs Certified Culinary Educator. Recently, he was honored with a National ACF Presidential Award and the 2018 Washington State Chef of the Year Award. J.J. serves on six different boards and is one of only eight members of the the National American Culinary Federation Certification Commission. Recently, he also became the National Chair of Written Exams for the A.C.F. He also serves on the Washington State Chef’s Association and is an active member in the community, working with Kitsap Community Agriculture Alliance and Kitsap Farmers Market Alliance. After eight years of teaching at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, he left to build his own restaurant, Maynard’s in Silverdale. With a market, restaurant, and cooking classes, J.J. plans on making Maynard’s Kitsap’s culinary destination.