CONFERENCE
17th Annual
Tastes of the World
Culinary Conference
at
UMass Offers
“Simple Food,
Healthy Eating”
H
undreds of collegiate chefs from the U.S. and Canada gathered at the 17th Annual Tastes of the
World Chef Culinary Conference at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) – Amherst from
June 12-17 to learn from culinary experts on simple food and healthy eating.
“The 17th annual Tastes of the Chef Culinary Conference will be remembered as one of the best
yet,” said Ken Toong, conference chair and executive director of Auxiliary Enterprises at UMass.
“It had everything from education, and tasting, to fun events. Delegates were asked by Chef John
Ash to pledge to reduce sodium content, CEO of Chartwells Steve Sweeney reminded us to take
care of employees and stay thin and White House Chef Roland Mesnier encouraged us to exercise and eat intelligently.”
The theme of this year’s conference was Simple Food, Healthy Eating. “We wanted this
conference to provide resources for the participants and to use the freshest and a lesser number
of ingredients, cut down on the cooking process, reduce the use of sodium and to produce food
that tastes good and is good for you,” said Toong.
The event featured several knowledgeable speakers, an American Culinary Federation (ACF)sanctioned culinary competition and hands-on sessions with small group production workshops.
The conference opened with an “Iron Chef Light” competition hosted by Kevin Brauch, host
of The Thirsty Traveler and co-host of the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. Four of the celebrity
chef instructors — Neela Paniz, Alexander Ong, Chai Siriyarn and Joanne Weir — had 15 minutes to
prepare meals using the “secret” ingredients of live Maine lobster and local asparagus.
Many of the conference’s sessions followed the “Simple Food, Healthy Eating” theme. Chef Jet
Tila presented a session entitled Stealth Health. He presented easy and intuitive techniques that Asian
chefs have been utilizing for centuries and vegetarian dishes to keep
“menus relevant and interesting.” Chef Thomas Griffiths, in his session “The Bear Facts about Cooking
with Honey,” described how he became
an amateur bee keeper, and offered tastes
of various honeys and demonstrated how
honey can be used as a sweetener, which is
more natural.
Gregg Wallis, managing editor of OnCampus Hospitality also moderated a Chef’s
Roundtable, a question and answer session. The
panel of college and university chefs included
Ralph Coughenour, director of Culinary Services with the University of New Hampshire in
Durham; Mark Lewis, café manager
at Davidson
College in North Carolina; Nathan Mileski, corpoAUGUST 2011
ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY
Gold Medals
Team H
Mary Gervasi - Northern Michigan University
Kathy Gischia - Northern Michigan University
Nathan Jennings - Northern Michigan University
Nathan Mileski - Northern Michigan University
Team K
Martin Breslin - Harvard University
Benjamin Cevelo - Harvard University
Donn Leonard - Harvard University
Arlene Richburg - Harvard University
Team M
Pamela Adams - University of Massachusetts
Tony Jung - University of Massachusetts
Scott Pascal - University of Massachusetts
Shawn Stemp - University of Massachusetts
Silver Medals
Team A
Susan Chang - University of Connecticut
Lisa Charbonneau - University of Connecticut
Michael Tolisano - University of Connecticut
Sterling Townes - University of Connecticut
Team B
Eric DesRosiers - Skidmore College
Paul Hill - Skidmore College
Mark Miller - Skidmore College
Stephanie Swett - Skidmore College
Team C
Rudiger Bernard - University of Texas
Robert Mayberry - University of Texas
Ernest Owney - University of Texas
Corey Smith - University of Texas
Team E
Becca Dowsland - MAC
David Mizgala - MAC
Jamie Wayland-Smith - MAC
John Wisniewski - Morrisville State College
Team F
rate executive chef, Northern Michigan University in Marquette;
and Mark Miller, production manager with Skidmore College in
Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Among the topics discussed included the
popularity of social media, sustainability and food allergies and
specialized diets.
As is always the case, the hands-on production workshops
were a popular part of the conference. Chef Mark Miller’s “Fresh
and Spicy” workshop demonstrated the techniques of working
with fresh chiles and the flavor combinations that work with fresh
herbs. Participants made both traditional and modern Southwest
flavor compositions.
The “Garlic Tomatoes and Olive” workshop from Chef Weir
featured the three cornerstone ingredients of the Mediterannean
diet. Participants learned to make dishes like Roasted Cod with
Tomatoes, Olives and Capers and Stewed Shrimp with Feta and
Tomatoes.
In her seminar, “Simple, delicious (and also happen to be
healthful) Japanese dishes from Hiroko’s Kitchen” Chef Hiroko Shimbo taught attendees how to transform Yoshoku dishes
(“Japanized” Western dishes that entered Japan in the early 20th
century) into American student-friendly, simple, delicious and
healthy cousins.
Chef Ong’s seminar, “Malaysian Cuisine” instructed the
chefs on the preparation of five basic sauces, which they used to
create dishes like Eggplant Nanking, Stir-Fried Asparagus with
Sambal Belachan Sauce and Szechuan Green Beans.
The conference concluded with 16 teams of four competing in
an ACF-sanctioned culinary competition. Each team was given a
mystery basket of products with which they were given three hours
to prepare a four-course soup/appetizer/salad/entrée menu. The
teams were required to plate four of each course, with 12 servings
for the fourth course. [See sidebar for winners on page 15]
—OCH
ON-CAMPUS HOSPITALITY
Mark Lewis - Davidson College
Craig Mombert - Davidson College
Tamira Murphy - Davidson College
Lisa Risk - Davidson College
Team O
John Pierce - Miami University
John Pittman - Miami University
Virginia Thiell - Miami University
J. Eric Yung - Miami University
Team P
Matthew Conley - Salisbury University
Greg Gefroh - University of North Dakota
Douglas Mattice - St. Lawrence University
Paul Nicolini
Bronze Medals
Team D
Stephen Kingston - Rochester Institute of Technology
Herlan Manurung - Rochester Institute of Technology
Steven O’Flynn - Rochester Institute of Technology
Adam Soucy - Rochester Institute of Technology
Team I
Cheryl Garber - Washington and Lee University
Geraldine McCutcheon - Washington and Lee University
Dorothy O’Donnell - Washington and Lee University
Anthony West- Bennington College
Team J
Terry Blackwell - College of the Holy Cross
Christopher Caron - College of the Holy Cross
Edward Rome - College of the Holy Cross
Timothy Trachimowicz - College of the Holy Cross
Team L
Buzz Cummings - University of Michigan
Frank Turchan - University of Michigan
Laurie Noble - SUNY Potsdam
Clare Sheehan - SUNY Potsdam
Team N
John Kelly - Vanderbilt University
Gary Rawson - Vanderbilt University
Herbert Schotz - University of Dayton
Ana Jaramillo - Holyoke Health Center
Team Q
Chris Cox - The University of Western Ontario
Jeff Chounard - St. John’s University
Denise McMaster - University of Waterloo
Arthur Monterio - University of Massachusetts
AUGUST 2011