If the culinary department at A-B Tech had a trophy room, it would be pretty brilliant. In 2012, the American Culinary Federation awarded graduate Daniel Gorman the title of Best Young Chef in the World. In 2011, the A-B Tech team took home the silver medal from the American Culinary Federation Student Team Championship. In 2007, they brought back the gold.

This month, the students won first place at the ACF's state competition, and they'll move on to the regional level. Here are the details from the press release:

A team of five A-B Tech Community College Culinary Arts students earned first place and a gold medal during state competition Jan. 12 at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, earning it a trip to the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) regional competition.

Students will compete March 1-3 in Louisville, Ky., at the ACF’s Southeast Regional conference. Members are captain Rita Sigman, Ashley Sweeney, Tim Nelson, Josh Page and Cassie Stockton. Kristin Allen serves as team manager.

The competition requires student teams to demonstrate butchery and knife skills and then prepare a four-course signature meal. A-B Tech teams have been ranked five times in the past 10 years as one of the top four nationally in the competition.

A gold medal is awarded to a team scoring between 36 and 40 points, with 40 being a perfect score. A-B Tech’s teams scored 36.13, a feat made possible by exemplary teamwork, according to Chef Eric Backer, who also serves as a coach. “The team was recognized by the judges for truly being a team.  They commented that the group worked as one unit. They communicated with each other and they were very organized and obviously practiced many long hours together,” he said.