The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) recently announced Chef Jeremy Cantwell, the University of Notre Dame, as the winner of the NACUFS 2023 Culinary Challenge. Chef Cantwell won first place and received an ACF Silver medal for his turkey mole guajolote.
Created in 2001 and sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the annual NACUFS Culinary Challenge recognizes the vast collection of culinary expertise in collegiate foodservice. Each year, a protein is selected that competitors must use to create an original recipe to form a nutritionally balanced plate. Individual competitors’ creations are judged based on a 100-point scale to rate organization, cooking skills, culinary technique, and taste.
The additional place-winners at the NACUFS Culinary Challenge were:
- In second place and an ACF Silver medal was Chef James Zeisler, Jr., Virginia Tech, with an arugula and cotija-stuffed turkey breast wrapped in prosciutto with sweet potato puree, mushroom and brussels sauté and a pomegranate foam.
- In third place and with an ACF Bronze medal was Chef Leslie LaScola, the University of Utah, with turkey ballotine with mushroom and spinach farci.
- Chef Thomas Dodd, the University of Washington, and Chef Bradley Shannon, Boston College, both earned an ACF Bronze medal, and Chef Jorge Noriega, from the University of Georgia, received a certificate of participation.
The judges from the ACF were Chef Kyle Richardson, Chef Douglas Fisher, and Chef Seta. The 2023 NACUFS Culinary Challenge was sponsored by US Foods, Cintas, and Jennie-O.
Previous winners can be found at their website.
About NACUFS: The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) was founded in 1958 by a group of college and university foodservice professionals from across the United States. Since its inception, NACUFS has focused on its mission to support and promote excellence in collegiate dining by providing members with the programs and resources they need to excel, from benchmarking and best practices to educational programming and professional networking. NACUFS institutional members include private colleges to large public universities, and two-year colleges to four-year universities and span the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and beyond. Industry members include food and equipment manufacturers, distributors, brokers, foodservice support companies, councils, boards, trade associations, advisory commissions, and other professional groups. For more information, visit their website.
