Skidmore Chefs Outcook Competition

Skidmore's fall semester is in swing, as students returned or arrived for the first time on campus to begin classes on Wednesday, September 9, including 250 freshmen who joined the Dining Services team.  But some of them might not know that while they were away, four Skidmore chefs won a medal at a culinary competition.

This summer, Mark Miller, Kelly Zimmerman, Stuart Schwartz and Robin Hozley won a bronze medal at the 15th annual Tastes of the World Culinary Conference competition, missing the silver by a mere half point. 

The Conference, which was held on June 15 at UMass Amherst, is a week-long program featuring workshops with world famous chefs. On the last day of the conference, participants entered into a "Top Chef" style competition, judged by workshop presenters.

The Skidmore four named themselves the "Rookie Team," as the competition was a first- time challenge for cooks Kelly Zimmerman and Stuart Schwartz, and baker Robin Hozley. After drawing first round, the rookies were assigned their "mystery basket," which contained all of the ingredients allowed on their menu. The group had forty-five minutes to put together a menu with an entrée (including a starch, vegetable and a sauce), an appetizer and a dessert, and a second dish to serve twelve buffet-style.

Contestants were allowed to get additional ingredients from a cooler, but were penalized if they took something and didn't use it in their concoctions. They were also limited to using a butane burner; the contest did not allow chefs to use an oven, fryer, grill or flat top for cooking.  
"That was the neatest part. We had to get creative," Miller said.

The judges checked to make sure that the rookies carefully wrapped all unused items, even excess vegetables that didn't make it into their dish.

"A big theme was being mindful of waste," Miller said. "And that's our biggest theme here, we love food but we hate waste in our dining hall."

"They watched our every move, it was very nerve-racking," Zimmerman said.

For their entrée, the Skidmore team perfected braised short ribs with an Asian slaw, along with seared bass and jumbo shrimp with a yellow beet risotto and blackened asparagus. For dessert, the team prepared a strawberry mousse with berry rhubarb sauce, which was difficult to create without a freezer; the team used an ice bath. For their second entrée, the rookies plated braised beef with Japanese eggplant.

Zimmerman, who was in charge of searing the striped sea bass, was also in charge of executing a first-time filet in front of the judges.

"I'd never even tried to filet a fish before; I was under so much pressure. The night before the contest I watched YouTube to learn how to fillet a fish," Zimmerman said.

"The judges and the fish were staring at me the whole time; it seemed like it took forever."

"But, she did it!" Schwartz, who was obviously proud of his coworker's atypical accomplishment, said.

Schwartz is a self taught cook that "picked up cooking on the fly"; he was excited about participating in the conference and the contest.
"I enjoyed it so much, I learned more there in a week than I ever did in a classroom," Schwartz said.
At the end of the competition, the "Rookie Team" was awarded a bronze medal for their exquisite menu and near perfect execution. Miller brings a team of chefs with him to the conference every year to update their technique and integrate new recipes into the student menu.
"I always try to change the cycle; we get new students every year with different tastes. Skidmore is known for having great food, and it's only getting better," Miller said.

The Skidmore Dining Services Team is attuned to every student's needs; a "prep kitchen" accommodates dietary restrictions and preferences. Gourmet foods are plated for the students to enhance aesthetic appeal, and ensure that students are only taking what they can eat.

"We strongly discourage waste here; we want to control what's going in the garbage," Miller said.

An on-campus, student-run organic garden helps supply fresh veggies for the dining hall, and the campus' convenience store shelves a hefty portion of local Saratoga products. Everything about the Murray-Aikins dining hall is state-of-the -art, from the granite countertops to the motivation behind each integrated food product.

"All of our staff looks forward to the students coming back," Miller said, and from the looks of Skidmore's menu and the talent working behind the counter, it's no surprise that students look forward to coming back as well.