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SUNY DELHI HOT FOOD TEAM WINS EIGHTH ACF STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

DELHI, NY … SUNY Delhi’s hot food team won the 2008 American Culinary Federation State Championship on February 2. This is the eighth time the Delhi hot food team has won this honor and the third time the team has earned a gold medal at the state level.

SUNY Delhi’s state champions now advance to the ACF Northeast Regional Championship to be held this April in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they will cook off against state champions from across the northeast region for the right to advance to the final four in Las Vegas, Nev. at the ACF National Convention. 

In addition to winning eight state titles, SUNY Delhi has the distinction as the only New York State student team to ever win the ACF Northeastern Regional Championship in the 16-year history of the event. The culinary team has won three of the last seven Northeast Regional Championships and earned a silver medal at the 2007 ACF National Championship in Orlando, Fla. in July 2007.

The Delhi team had 80 minutes to demonstrate technical skills and then was challenged to prepare and serve a four-course meal for four in 90 minutes. The team’s winning hot food menu was as follows:

• First Course—Sauteed Striped Bass with a Duet of Lobster and Spinach Cake
• Salad Course—Mixed Green and Arugula Salad with Poached Pear and Champagne Vinaigrette 
• Main Course—Poulet Saute Bercy accompanied by Potato-Fennel Gratin and Fresh Vegetables 
• Dessert Course—Vanilla Mousse with a Tart Apple Filling, Warm Bread Pudding, Cider Sorbet and Caramel Sauce

Members of Delhi’s winning team include: Brianne Slocum, Team Captain, a third-year student from Taberg; Tammy Peters, a second-year student from Endicott; Sarah Thurgood, a second-year student from Bovina Center; Tami Eicholz, a fourth-year student from Israel; and Jillian Naveh, Alternate, a second-year student from Wantagh. Chef Tom Recinella, associate professor of culinary arts, coaches Delhi’s hot food team with culinary arts instructors Julee Miller and Jessica Backus-Foster.

SUNY Delhi’s culinary arts program has gained national attention and continues to garner respect and accolades for its excellence. Regarded as one of the best in the country by many industry professionals, the program offers students a firm foundation in which to start their careers as culinary professionals. The college’s culinary labs progress through basic skills dealing with Garde Manger, baking, sauces, stocks, etc., to the capstone course, Signatures by Candlelight, a full service fine dining restaurant that is open to the public and operated completely by SUNY Delhi students. In addition to the core classes, there are numerous culinary electives offered to help each student customize their portfolio of education. Depending on their interest or direction in the field, students can choose from electives such as advanced meat cutting, culinary competition, advanced pastries and confections and culinary sculpting, which uses 300 pound ice blocks made on campus by culinary students in the college’s own ice sculpting lab.

SUNY Delhi was one of the first colleges in New York State to introduce Hospitality Management at the associate’s degree level and has become a recognized leader in hospitality education. Delhi also offers the only Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Hospitality Management in New York State. With its full range of majors in Restaurant and Foodservice Management, Hotel and Resort Management, Travel and Tourism Management, and Culinary Arts, SUNY Delhi prepares graduates for careers in one of the fastest growing industries in the United States.

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