Skidmore culinary team brings home another gold

Skidmore College’s culinary team has won the American Culinary Federation’s Taste of the World competition for a third year in a row.

The 25th annual event, hosted June 14 at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, was the culmination of the American Culinary Federation’s annual Chef Culinary Conference, which brings together chefs and educators from renowned institutions across the country. The goal of the conference was to develop food service concepts that support sustainable choices, with a specific focus on food ethics and nutrition.

The Skidmore team included Joe Greco, production manager; Joe Waldron, cook; Shelly Carpenter, baker; and Audrianna Rumsey, short-order cook. They presented a four-course menu of original dishes designed on the day of the competition.

Their gold medal-winning lineup consisted of Herb Garden Poached Branzino as an appetizer, Duck Two Ways as an entrée, Raspberry-Cashew Entremet Cake for dessert, and Pan-Seared Beef Tri-Tip and Shrimp Surf and Turf Style for buffet service.

“What’s great about these culinary competitions is they test your knowledge and skills against your peers from across the country,” said Mark Miller, director of Dining Services.

“It is a great team-building experience that grows your confidence and teaches you new skills. We have so much talent here at Skidmore and it’s great to get this kind of recognition at a huge national competition like this.”

This award reinforces a series of over six consecutive wins by the College’s culinary team. The most recent was a “Chopped”-like American Culinary Federation competition Jan. 11 in Murray-Aikins Dining Hall.

Skidmore Dining Services has been competing in AFC’s commissioned culinary competitions for over 12 years. On campus, most of their work focuses on creating sustainable and diverse food menus for Skidmore students. 

This year, The Princeton Review ranked Skidmore No. 19 for Best Campus Food in the nation. Business Insider ranked the College No. 7 of “The 50 US colleges with the best food” in 2015.