The American Culinary Federation is coming to Birmingham for its Southeast Regional Conference, April 24-26 at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel.

The event is hosted by ACF Birmingham Chapter. This will be the second time the local chapter has hosted the regional conference.  A little more about the chapter: On their web site, they note, "The Birmingham Alabama Chapter of the American Culinary Federation is open to all culinarians of Central Alabama. Professionals, students, educators, vendors, support staff, or just plain crazy 'foodies.' All are welcome to come and be a part of our meetings and events."

The regional ACF conference brings together foodservice professionals and chefs from across the Southeast for a weekend of networking and educational opportunities, a trade show, cooking competitions and demonstrations from the region’s finest chefs. Cooking competitions take place off-site at Jefferson State Community College’s Shelby-Hoover Campus.

Speakers include Donald Barickman, an award-winning restaurateur, author and TV personality from Charleston, S.C., who is a pioneer in Lowcountry cuisine, as well as Birmingham chef Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club, and Tim Grandinetti of Overlook Farms, Clarksville, Mo.

Some sessions are probably only going to be of interest to professionals, like "Food Safety Curriculum Development," or "Increasing Product Consumption in Foodservice," but others seem like they might be interesting for the non-chef foodie, such as "Global Flavors & Your Menu," "Thrill Your Guests with Precision Flambe Action Cooking," "Wild Fish & Game: Part of America's Culinary Heritage," and a cheese and wine tasting from Cabot and Kendall Jackson.

Registration is required to attend. Daily badges are $75, and full-registration packages are available. Guests can register on-site. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org/events or call (800) 624-9458.