SUNY Delhi Wins State Culinary Competition

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Pictured are Arthur Grady of Syracuse (alternate), Peter Blayne of Westbury, Alex Johnson of Herkimer (captain), Carly Yezzo of Schenectady, and Matthew Julius of the Bronx.

DELHI, NY (12/08/2016)(readMedia)-- SUNY Delhi's Hot Food Team won the American Culinary Federation's State Championship on the Delhi campus December 3.

Delhi's team placed first in the competition, winning a gold medal with a score of 92.8. Monroe Community College and Schenectady County Community College also competed, earning gold and bronze medals respectively. Delhi now advances to the ACF's Northeast Regional Championship to be held at Monroe Community College in New Rochelle, N.Y. in February.

The state competition was divided into two sections. Phase one was a practical and skill-based competition, consisting of knife skills and plating techniques. Phase two, the most grueling stage, required competitors to prepare a four course signature meal of four servings. The team's winning hot food menu was as follows:

• First Course- Filets de Sole Lady Egmont

• Second Course- Salad of Beets, Pickled Grapes, Fennel and Orange with Goat Cheese Mousse and Beet Gelee

• Third Course (entrée)- Chicken Trio, Fall Vegetables, Apple Cider Calvados Sauce

• Fourth Course (dessert)- Pistachio and Chocolate Terrine, Passion Fruit Bar, Raspberry Sorbet, Tropical Fruit and Mint

SUNY Delhi's Hot Food Team members include Alex Johnson of Herkimer (captain), Peter Blayne of Westbury, Matthew Julius of the Bronx, Carly Yezzo of Schenectady and Arthur Grady of Syracuse (alternate). Faculty who coached the team include Instructor Victor Sommo, CEC, and Assistant Professor Brianne Slocum, CHE, who are alumni of Delhi's Culinary Arts program, Assistant Professor Sean Pehrsson, CEC, CHE, and Instructor James Margiotta, CEC.

SUNY Delhi's Hot Food Team has the distinction of being the only team from the State University of New York to have claimed the national title, winning in 2010 and 2012. The team has won a total of 12 American Culinary Federation State Championships and the ACF Northeastern Regional Championship six times. Just this year, the college's Hot Food Team won its first international competition in the U.S. as champions of Copa Culinaria Mundial Junior in Costa Rica. SUNY Delhi students and faculty have won hundreds of ACF medals at local, regional and national events.

SUNY Delhi's Culinary Arts programs offer graduates a firm foundation from which to start their careers as professionals. Students can choose from a variety of specialized courses depending on their interest or direction in the field, including advanced meat cutting, culinary competition, advanced pastries and confections, and culinary sculpting, a course in which students learn to sculpt 300-pound ice blocks made in the campus lab. A capstone course, Signatures by Candlelight, gives students the experience of operating a full-service, fine dining restaurant that is open to the public.

The Culinary Arts programs are part of SUNY Delhi's award-winning hospitality offerings. Delhi offers two- and four-year degree programs in Hotel and Resort Management, Restaurant and Foodservice Management, Event Management, and Culinary Arts.

For more information about SUNY Delhi's Culinary Arts programs, visit www.delhi.edu.