Chef William-Allen Peterson Culinary Arts Foundation Partners with SkillsUSA to Support Culinary Student Success at the SkillsUSA Championships

SkillsUSA:
Jane Short or Karen Kitzel, 703-777-8810
Email: jshort@skillsusa.org or kkitzel@skillsusa.org

Chef William Peterson Foundation Contact:
ChefWilliamPetersonFoundation@gmail.com
434-987-1336

Culinary arts nonprofit sponsors high school medalists at national championships in Atlanta

Leesburg, Va., June 18, 2025 — SkillsUSA has announced a new partnership with the Chef William-Allen Peterson Culinary Arts Foundation to support the 2025 SkillsUSA Championships Culinary Arts competition. The culinary event will be held June 23-27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta as part of the annual National Leadership & Skills Conference, where 114 career competitions will take place simultaneously. Chef Will’s Foundation and SkillsUSA will provide gold, silver and bronze high school medalists with co-branded medalist grants.

Furthering its commitment to uplift America’s next generation of aspiring culinary professionals, Chef Will’s Foundation will expand its role in 2026 to support college/postsecondary medalists as well as high school medalists.

“SkillsUSA is pleased to partner with Chef Will’s Foundation to recognize, celebrate and support the best culinary arts students in the nation,” said SkillsUSA Executive Director Chelle Travis. This year’s Culinary Arts competition has 39 high school and 26 college/postsecondary students vying for top honors. To qualify, each student won a state-level event to earn the right to compete at the championships.

“The SkillsUSA Championships Culinary Arts competition is organized around a modified market basket format,” explains Dr. Brandon Hudson, director of the Office of Workforce Development at SkillsUSA. “The Culinary Arts competition requires prepping, cooking and plating a five-course menu as well as taking a written American Culinary Federation Certified Fundamentals Cook II examination. They are graded on sanitation, waste management, technical skills, knife skills, butchery, finished products and a written menu. Two plated dishes are required for judging and for public viewing in this outstanding display of culinary arts excellence by students who are pursuing their craft at a national level. Students also provide a resume and test for their ANSI food safety certificate.”

“This partnership with SkillsUSA is a significant step in our foundation’s growth and allows us to support the best culinary arts students in the U.S.,” says Morris Peterson, who is the father of William Peterson, and the founder and director of Chef Will’s Foundation. “The opportunity for Chef Will’s Foundation to collaborate with SkillsUSA, our nation’s premier student workforce development organization, will help us grow and become more effective in our mission to help students succeed in the field and to reach more culinary arts programs in the schools.”

Chef Ambassador Robert “Bob” Bressan M.Ed., and Culinary Arts Education Coordinator for Chef Will’s Foundation, said, “There is no better tribute to the enduring memory of William Peterson than this foundation to help aspiring chefs. I taught and mentored him as a standout student at the Charlottesville Area Technical Education Center (Virginia) and he was also a proud past SkillsUSA state champion. I have coached many SkillsUSA culinary arts students during my 13-year tenure at CATEC. Chef Will was a remarkable young man, a gifted cook and dedicated chef who relentlessly practiced his craft with passion, innovation, professionalism and excellence. Chef Will ascended through the professional kitchen ranks and achieved Executive Chef status in the Charlotte, North Carolina culinary scene by age 30. Sadly, he suddenly passed away due to a fatal medical event at age 31 in November 2023.”

The Chef William-Allen Peterson Culinary Arts Foundation is also developing performance-based student scholarship opportunities in conjunction with its new CAPERS™ (Culinary Arts Program Enrichment Strategies) programming. CAPERS is modular immersive culinary education and training that is whole-student centric designed to augment existing school courses.

Photos available on request.

About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students, empowering them to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders and responsible community members. SkillsUSA represents more than 442,000 career and technical education students and teachers in middle schools, high schools and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Those members represent 130 in-demand occupational areas, from 3-D animation to welding. A vital solution to the skills gap, SkillsUSA has served over 15 million members since its founding in 1965. Learn more at skillsusa.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

About the Chef William-Allen Peterson Culinary Arts Foundation

The Chef William-Allen Peterson Culinary Arts Foundation, a Virginia based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization honors Chef Will’s enduring legacy by empowering aspiring young culinarians through advocacy, education, scholarships, equipment, mentoring and training. We nurture secondary and postsecondary school talent in underrepresented communities, transforming enthusiastic students into the next generation of culinary arts and science specialists and professional chefs. Chef Will’s Foundation uplifts students from low-income backgrounds and underserved schools whose families lack the financial resources, opportunities, professional networks and mentors to adequately prepare talented students for rewarding professional careers in culinary sciences, food service, hospitality and restaurant industries. Learn more at www.ChefWill.org and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.