Johnson & Wales University-Providence takes first place at Student Culinology Competition

RCA Announces Student Culinology® Competition Winners

at Annual Luncheon in Seattle

ATLANTA (April 17, 2008)— 

The Research Chefs Association (RCA) announced the winners of its second annual Student Culinology® Competition on March 8th at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, during the RCA Annual Luncheon.   The competition, supported by Star Sponsor National Starch Food Innovation, is designed to challenge and recognize the industry's young talent in the field of Culinology – the blending of culinary arts and food science.
 
An enthusiastic student team from Johnson & Wales University-Providence (J&W) took first place honors, along with a $5,000 cash award and industry-wide recognition as rising stars in food product development.  Their award was presented by Janet Carver, RCA vice president and National Starch’s Culinology group leader, at the 2008 RCA Annual Luncheon, where over 500 food product development professionals gather each year to celebrate industry achievements. 

The winning team from J&W was led by faculty member Lynn Tripp, associate professor of food science, and team leader Matthew Pratta.  Team members included Leah Brickley, Theodora Kaloudis, and, Andrew Schmitt.

"I am extremely proud of the entire team for working tirelessly from September to March to overcome challenges they’ve never been faced with before, for never giving up, for always finding an answer, and for believing for every minute that they would succeed.  This team kept their eye on the prize.  And ultimately, it paid off,” says Tripp.

Their winning entry was a gourmet meal entitled Smokin’ Cod.  The meal consisted of a Walla Walla glazed Pacific cod with smoked tomato succotash, inspired by the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

A student team from the University of Cincinnati placed in second, and Mississippi University for Women Culinary Arts Institute placed third.  Two additional finalist teams from Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University also participated in the competition in Seattle.
 
The competing teams each developed a frozen, restaurant quality gourmet meal for two for a fictional retail grocery channel, which included both the gold standard recipes and the corresponding product formulations.  The meal had to be inspired by the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest.  One week prior to the competition, each team shipped their pre-portioned, frozen meal items to the event location. On-site at the live competition in Seattle, teams prepared their fresh, gold standard menu items.

In a Culinology Match Test, competition judges compared each team’s reheated and plated frozen items against their corresponding freshly prepared items on the day of the event. The competition focused on the many elements of Culinology, such as originality of concept, nutritional profile, manufacturing feasibility, flavor, aroma, texture, presentation, safety standards, and much more.

RCA congratulates all student teams for their participation and healthy competitive spirit in this successful annual event. 

The 2009 Student Culinology Competition is scheduled to take place next March in Dallas, Texas, during the 2009 RCA Annual Conference and Culinology Expo. 

For the full press release, please download the attachment.