LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Oct. 2, 2008 – Several Walt Disney World Cast Members were among the top hospitality-industry professionals to receive honors for outstanding culinary achievements in the annual Santé Restaurant Awards presented by Santé, a magazine for restaurant professionals. As the only peer-judged restaurant and hospitality competition in North America, the awards program recognizes excellence in restaurant food, wine, spirits and service hospitality. Disney’s Chef de Cuisine Scott Hunnel received the Culinary Professional of the Year award for his outstanding achievement in culinary service and hospitality at Victoria and Albert’s restaurant at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.

“It was like winning an Oscar,” Hunnel said of his award. “Working for Disney has been very gratifying because they support my continuous growth, along with the other Cast Members who work in the restaurants,” he said.

As a Disney chef for nearly 20 years, Hunnel said a true leader realizes that it takes more than cooking a good meal to be successful-it’s a team effort. “It’s really taken years of building the foundation of this restaurant and building the team,” he said of his fellow chefs at Victoria & Albert’s. “We had to really instill the philosophy of continuous evolution.”

Understanding that evolution helped Hunnel capture the attention and taste buds of his peers. The fundamentals of cooking don’t change, he said, rather it’s the extra love that goes into the dish that makes his cooking and the restaurant menu different from others. This culinary expertise is tastefully demonstrated in one of his signature dishes — the applewood smoked buffalo tenderloin with melted fennel, leeks and salad greens with blood orange vinaigrette.

Other Disney professionals setting themselves apart from competitors include Gary Kaikaka from California Grill at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, who received the Service Professional Award for outstanding achievement in food, wine and spirits service. The restaurant managers and servers at Jiko-The Cooking Place at Disney’s Animal Kingdom also received the Wine Hospitality Award for outstanding achievement in wine service and hospitality.

The Santé Restaurant Awards are based on a variety of criteria, and winners represent a broad spectrum of restaurant- and hospitality-industry professionals with a common passion for their work and a commitment to excellence. Award recipients will be honored for their achievements at this year’s festivities, to be held at Silverado Resort in Napa, Cal., Nov. 4.