Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Fall 2018

12 SCOPE FALL 2018 A W A R D S Medunjanin: Ed Burke; Talanian and Donnelly: Mark Bolles Y E A R I N R E V I E W 2 0 1 8 GOOD EATS. From its herbed flounder appetizer to its citrus pound cake dessert, Skidmore’s dining services earned another gold medal in January’s American Culinary Federa- tion contest, besting 11 other regional college teams. Mark Miller, director of dining services, says the event is great for developing new recipes for Skidmore’s menus. In 2017 his crew also won gold at the “Tastes of the World” national culi- nary competition and was second (behind no lesser light than the Culinary Institute of America) in Niche.com’s “Best College Food” rankings. BEST BAND. Skidmore’s summer Jazz Institute celebrated Grammy Awards for its faculty members Michael Dease and Steve Davis, both trombonists, as well as two institute alumni who’ve also served on its faculty: trumpeter Brandon Lee and trombonist James Burton III. As core members of Christian McBride’s Big Band, they shared the Grammy for the band’s album Bringin’ It . Dease says the McBride band “embodies the principles of teamwork, excellence and mentorship— values modeled by the Skidmore Jazz Institute.” START-UP GOLD. The Kind Cultures brand of raw-honey kombucha tea earned its creator Graham Gilmore ’18 the top prize—$20,000 to help grow the fledgling firm—in the Ken- neth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition. Kind puts a new spin on the fermented drink, using honey instead of sugar and offering flavors such as Grapefruit Rose and Ginger Punch. Gilmore thanked Tal Chitayat ’03, co-founder and CEO of Full Circle Home, for his mentorship in fine-tuning the Kind business plan and “helping us bring it from zero to where we are today.” Top: Okoye Augustine ‘18 helps serve at the culinary competition hosted at Murray-Ai- kins Dining Hall. Right: Graham Gilmore ‘18 offers a tea-tasting dur- ing his winning pitch in the Freirich business startup contest. MEDAL WINNERS Augustine: Chris Massa; Gilmore: Peter Abare-Brown