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Adalberto Diaz Labrada, the executive chef and culinary instructor at Harmons Grocery store in downtown Salt Lake City, was named the Western Region's "Pastry Chef of the Year" by the American Culinary Federation. He earned the award this past weekend at the ACF's regional conference in Sparks, Nev.
During the timed competition, the Utah chef prepared a warm pineapple upside-down date pudding cake with coconut mascarpone mousse and pineapple/orange sorbet. Diaz Labrada will now compete for the national title and $5,000 at the ACF's National Convention in Orlando, Fla., July 14-17.
"This is a great reward for all those years of hard work," said Diaz Labrada, a native of Cuba who graduated from the International School for Tourism Entertainment in Havana. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 and has worked at several Utah restaurants before becoming a professor/chef-instructor at Utah Valley University in Orem and the cooking instructor at Harmons.