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Team from Cornell Dining earns Bronze Medals at Skidmore ACF Culinary Competition

A team of four culinarians represented Cornell Dining at the 11th Annual Skidmore College ACF Culinary Competition in January, and we're proud to report that Chefs Mike Ives (from Cornell Catering), Shane Poyer (of Martha’s Café), Emily Diamond (from Keeton House Dining Room), and Dan Galindo (from Becker House Dining Room) earned Bronze Medals in the market basket style competition.

Four people wear chef coats and hats, and medals, in front of a wall that says Skidmore College
Chefs Dan Galindo, Emily Diamond, Shane Poyer, and Michael Ives celebrate their Bronze Medals.

Each of the ten teams competing at Skidmore from college and universities around the region was tasked with preparing a three-course menu and a buffet platter using ingredients in a "market basket" provided to each team. The required ingredients for this competition included whole steelhead trout, Cornish game hens, pork tenderloin, tempeh, trumpet mushrooms, tri-color carrots, local mustard greens, spaghetti squash, lentils, brown rice, russet potatoes, blood oranges, kumquats, Meyer lemons, and Marcona almonds.

"They trained with me, Chef Josh Holden, Chef Chloe Greenhalgh, and Chef Maurice Choo for two months before competing," says Cornell Dining Executive Chef Ambarish Lulay, "and the teams had an hour and a half to develop the menu and then three hours to prepare and serve the dishes. A panel of professional chefs judged the teams on originality, taste, and presentation, awarding and deducting points for timing, teamwork, utilization of food, skills, sanitation, and overall preparation."

Four chefs wearing red caps cooking in a shared kitchen
Cornell Dining's team preparing their meal for the judges.

 

The team crafted the following dishes to present to the judges:

Appetizer
Cornish Game Hen Ballotine over Lentil Salad, Black Garlic, Molasses and Raspberry Vinaigrette, Pickled Tri-color Carrots and marinated Kumquats

Entrée
Fennel and Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Fresh Ricotta Tortellini, Seared King Trumpet Mushrooms, Sauteed Mustard Greens, Pork Jus and Red Wine Gastrique

Dessert
Baked Apple Custard with Blood Orange Zest, Almond Jaconde, Vanilla Diplomat Crème, Marcona Almond Praline and Blackberry & Meyer Lemon Compote

Buffet Platter
Seared Zaatar Crusted Steelhead Trout with Tempeh Brown Rice, Naan Style Bread, Spaghetti Squash and Carrot Hummus with Crispy Russet Potatoes

A plate of food on a tablecloth
The team's fennel and herb crusted pork tenderloin entrée.

"We are very proud of the team and the hard work they put in, to get ready for this competition," says Chef Ambarish. "Culinary competitions are a great way to build morale and camaraderie, and learn about oneself under pressure while pushing our collective culinary acumen to the next level."

About Cornell Dining

Cornell Dining is consistently ranked in the Princeton Review's top ten for best campus food among all colleges and universities in the country! That high rating comes from customer surveys, and reflects Cornell Dining's commitment to serving high-quality foods that are healthy and creatively prepared with genuine care for a diverse community. Cornell Dining operates about 30 on-campus eateries -- which include residential dining rooms, cafés, coffeehouses, food courts, and convenience stores -- and serves more than 23,000 meals a day to members of the Cornell community. For more information, visit dining.cornell.edu.