Skidmore to host ACF seminar, competition Jan. 9 & 10

Gold, silver, and bronze medals will be in the news later this year as the world turns its attention to London for the Summer Olympics.
 
Long before the sports competition, gold, silver, and bronze awards will be presented on the campus of Skidmore College to winners of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Culinary Competition scheduled Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 9 and 10, at Murray-Akins Dining Hall.
 
The competition is part of Skidmore's first-ever ACF Seminar, which is drawing participants from colleges and universities in New York State and New England. The theme of the event, "Healthy Foods, Sustainable Choices," celebrates a back-to-basics approach to preparing food, with an emphasis on flavorful food from local sources, seasonal ingredients, and a healthy lifestyle.
 
Workshops and presentations during the seminar will include Vegan Baking, Sustainability and Skidmore's Student Garden, and Vegetarian/Vegan Sausage Making, among others. There will be an ice-carving demonstration by Tony J. DeStratis, executive chef at the Lake George Club, and a presentation by plant-based nutritionist Christine Kaczmarek, director of business services at the College. Riley Neugebauer, campus sustainability coordinator, also will present during the seminar.
 
The highlight of the event will be a culinary competition. Classified as an ACF Category W Market Basket Competition, the contest will require participating teams to prepare a four-course menu of either appetizer or salad, soup or dessert, entr e with appropriate starch/vegetable and accompaniment, as well as one buffet platter serving 12, and one plated serving for the judges.
 
Mark Miller of Skidmore's Dining Services is coordinating the conference at the college. He is a veteran of ACF conferences held on other campus in the Northeast, and was part of Skidmore's 2009 Bronze Award-winning team and the Silver Award-winning 2011 team.
 
Although competing is a high-energy, sometimes stressful event, it is also a lot of fun because it demands a high level of teamwork and creativity, says Miller. He's thrilled with the plans for the coming event because he considers it a great opportunity to build morale and spread the word about Skidmore's dining services staff and Murray-Akins Dining Hall. He's also hoping that Skidmore will again earn a medal and toward that end, has been working with colleagues to prepare for the competition with mock trials on campus.
 
A total of 10 four-person teams from colleges and universities in New York State and New England will attend. In addition to Skidmore, schools that have registered are Cornell University, the University of New Hampshire, RIT, Tufts University, Williams College, RPI, the College of St. Rose, UAlbany, and the Capital Region Career/Technical School.
 
Members of the Skidmore community are welcome to observe activities over the course of the two days. There will be an opportunity to talk with judges and participants.