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HUDS Council of Chefs Earns Gold Again CAMBRIDGE, MA—July 21, 2004—Harvard University Dining Services' (HUDS) Council of Chefs has enjoyed a year of competition honors, with their most recent gilding coming at the 10th annual Chef Culinary Conference in Amherst, Massachusetts on June 18. In Team Competition, the Council of Chefs was awarded prestigious American Culinary Federation (ACF) Gold Medals and top honors. The Category F Hot Food Competition was centered on a mystery basket. HUDS' four-man team of Brendan Ryan, Martin Breslin, Ludger Wessels and Larry Kessel had 30 minutes, after receiving their mystery basket, to write a menu and submit it to judges. They then had four hours to execute the meal, and 20 minutes to plate and present it to the judges. "Our Council of Chefs has more than 80 years combined culinary expertise," says HUDS' Executive Director, Ted Mayer. "They have truly changed how Harvard tastes, and I'm proud to say that our reputation for academic excellence now extends to dining, as well. The Council's streak of competition wins just reiterates for the culinary world what we've been enjoying at Harvard for some time." The competition mystery basket contained five whole chickens, four striped bass, two bunches of asparagus, two-and-a-half pounds of brown rice, eight Granny Smith apples, two pints of strawberries, and six stems of rhubarb. Kitchen facilities were stocked with equipment and common ingredients to augment the mystery ingredients, but the mystery basket contents had to be featured. Points were given for menu and ingredient compatibility; flavor, taste, texture and doneness; culinary and cooking technique; and various areas of execution. The tantalizing HUDS Council of Chefs team menu was: 1st Course—Apple and Parsnip Soup
2nd Course—Filet of Striped Bass, Seared and presented on a bed of Wilted Spinach with a Rhubarb Chutney and a Balsamic Reduction with Spinach Oil Garnish 3rd Course—Strawberry Compote Salad in a European Cucumber Ring 4th Course —Stuffed Chicken Roulade with a Timbale of Wild Rice, Poached Asparagus, and a Sherry Velouté Sauce "We love the team competition dynamic," says Ryan. "It's tremendous to work with such an accomplished group of chefs who contribute great ideas to the menu and really understand working as a group to form a fantastic collaboration." The Council of Chefs is the culinary leadership for HUDS' four major cooking disciplines: Residential Dining (Breslin, with Executive Sous Chef Kessel); Campus Restaurants (Ryan); Crimson Catering (Wessels); and the Culinary Support Group (Andy Allen, with Executive Sous Chef Kim Hannon). The HUDS Council of Chefs team won the same competition last year. This year they scored 38.0668 points out of a possible 40. Harvard University Dining Services operates 13 residential dining halls, 13 campus restaurants, a kosher kitchen, a campus debit card program, and complete catering services. The country's oldest collegiate foodservice operation, HUDS serves approximately 5 million meals a year and ranks third among self-operated collegiate foodservice departments in the nation in annual revenues. # # # Contact:Crista Martin Phone: 617-496-6705 |
