Leibfried can be seen on Fox's #1 rated show, “Hell’s Kitchen,” as Gordon Ramsay's sous chef. He has appeared on The Food Network's series, “Party Starters,” and the "Challenge" series. He also evaluates and consults with Ramsay on all of the restaurants on the hit series, “Kitchen Nightmares.”

Vail was selected by Chef Kevin Duffy, dean of the College of Culinary Arts, for her academic and culinary excellence. Her interest in the culinary arts evolved from her international childhood stationed at U.S. military bases and for her mother's (alleged) lack of kitchen skills. “When I was 14, I complained to my mother about her cooking for the last time when she assigned me kitchen duty permanently,” Vail recalls fondly. Based in Sasebo, Japan, she honed her focus on nutrition through the first-hand account of the service members’ eating habits and exercise regimen. “Because the base was so small, it lacked a formal medical facility and nutrition professionals,” she notes. “Many service members were required to maintain a certain weight and physical shape without guidance. I witnessed people skipping meals, over-exercising and resorting to extreme dieting.” When she learned about the university's Culinary Nutrition program, her fate was sealed.

Vail, a junior, earned an associate degree in culinary arts from JWU in May 2010 and expects to graduate with her bachelor's degree in May 2012. She is a member of JWU Players, the university's theater troupe, and has played leading roles in productions of Urinetown and Mousetrap. In keeping with the university's career-education model, she completed an internship during her sophomore year at The Harbor View Club in Sasebo, Japan, where she was a line cook and worked in the pastry area.

Vail is the daughter of Florence Cameron, a speech language pathologist for the U.S. Government now based in Ansbach, Germany, and David Vail, a resident of Narka, Kan.

About the Distinguished Visiting Chef Program

In 1979, the College of Culinary Arts at JWU established the Distinguished Visiting Chef Program to honor outstanding culinarians and provide an expanded learning experience for culinary arts students. Chefs Paul Bocuse, Emeril Lagasse, Madeleine Kamman and Marcus Samuelsson have been among the more than 160 visitors to the Providence campus. Typically, DVCs visit campus for a few days and work side-by-side with students as they present demonstrations and lectures about their native regions, cultures and cuisines.