Skidmore culinary team earns gold
Chefs score highest in ‘Chopped’-style event
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> The Skidmore College culinary team won its sixth consecutive gold medal for excellence in the American Culinary Federation Competition, which the school hosted recently.
Skidmore chefs scored the highest point total against teams from eight other Northeast colleges and universities, and the prestigious Bonnie Briar Country Club in Westchester County.
The competition — similar to the television series “Chopped” — challenged four-person teams to create unique and delicious recipes using an identical “market basket” of ingredients and a shared table of staples and spices.
Facing tight time limits, and without the use of broilers or fryers, each team was challenged to produce a salad or appetizer, a soup or dessert, an entrée and a buffet platter. The dishes were to be stylish, but practical and nutritionally balanced, feature complementary flavors and textures, and have good eye appeal.
Market basket ingredients remained secret until the competition began and included monk tail, whole chicken, pork belly, sweet potatoes, rutabagas, Romanesco cauliflower, Maitake mushrooms, kumquats, Meyer lemons, Asian pears, chestnuts, farro, lentils and shishito peppers.
Skidmore’s culinary team was comprised of chefs Joe Greco, Daniel Salazar, Matthew Holton and Shelly Carpenter. Their four-course meal included:
• Appetizer: five-spice braised local pork belly with sweet potato puree, Asian pear slaw, caramelized kumquats and an Asian-inspired reduction sauce.
• Entrée: bacon-wrapped monkfish loin with sautéed rutabaga and Romanesco cauliflower, lentil ragout with Maitake mushroom and citrus butter sauce.
• Dessert: triple chocolate mousse cake with Meyer lemon gelee and toasted chestnut crunch.
• Buffet: black garlicbasted chicken breast and braised chicken leg, farro pilaf, sautéed winter vegetables and blistered shishito pepper chimichurri.
“The competition gives our staff a fun opportunity to practice and enhance their culinary skills while engaging in friendly competition with talented teams from other institutions,” said Mark Miller, Skidmore director of dining services. “We are extremely proud of our gold medal and how the Skidmore team worked together to earn it. We were also pleased to hear from the judges that this year’s competition was one the best yet — with some of the tastiest food. We look forward to raising the bar again next year.”
Skidmore has hosted the competition eight times.
Cornell University, which placed second in the point tally, also earned a gold medal.
The remaining eight teams — Tufts University, SUNY Albany, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Geneseo, St. Lawrence University, University at Buffalo, University of Rochester, Bonnie Briar Country Club — all earned silver medals.
The judging panel consisted of Capital Region master chef Dale Miller, lead judge Victor Sommo, William G. Hohenstein III, Michael Morgan, Michael Stamets, James G. Rhoads III, and apprentice judge John Noble Masi.
Judges critiqued originality, taste and presentation, and awarded or deducted points for timing, teamwork, skills, sanitation, overall preparation and utilization of food.
Skidmore’s dining services program organizes the annual competition to provide ongoing staff development and raise the standards of culinary excellence on campus.
Skidmore’s campus food regularly achieves high rankings, including a No. 4 rating for Best College Food in New York in 2019 from Niche.com. The ranking is based on meal plan costs and Skidmore’s own student reviews. The Princeton Review also ranks Skidmore as No. 19 nationally for Best Campus Food.