RIT Chefs Claim Silver and Bronze in Separate National Culinary Competitions

An RIT chef de cuisine team made up of Stacy Krebbeks, Adam Pastecki, Hellen Saroinsong-Bitetti, and Benjamin Wood competed in the 10th annual American Culinary Federation (ACF) Conference and Competition on Jan. 10, 2024 at Skidmore College in Saratoga, New York.

A total of nine university chef teams from six different states were invited to create a four-course menu within two hours in market basket competition. Each four-person team presented an appetizer, a soup, an entrée, and a buffet-style dish to a panel of three judges.

RITs team assembled by executive chef Herlan Manurung prepared a menu starting with a Sate Lilit Bronzini, a Balinese fish satay, as an appetizer, a pozole verde, Mexican green soup with hominy, their entrée of persimmon glazed seared pork loin and a blood orange braised duck as the buffet item. In the end, the team's valiant effort was rewarded with a bronze medal.

Executive chef Manurung believes the biggest prize in this type of competitions is the experience gained by his fellow chefs.

"This is how we develop our staff," Executive chef Manurung said. "They connect with chefs, share knowledge, and simultaneously, have fun."

Last year, over the summer of 2023, executive chef Herlan Manurung, chef de cuisine Eric Mercovich, and chef de cuisine James Balch represented RIT in an ACF Culinary Conference and Competition at the University of Massachusetts.

The annually-hosted event by UMass Dining provides an opportunity for university culinary experts to share industry knowledge, experience live demonstrations, and of course, compete against each other.

The 14 teams at this year's event were tasked with creating a three-course menu comprised of an appetizer, a main entrée, and dessert. RITs team got to work and prepared raspberry glazed quail as the starter, seared ocean perch for the entrée, and finished with a refreshing peach galette.

Together, executive chef Herlan Manurung, chef de cuisine Eric Mercovich, and chef de cuisine James Balch impressed, and claimed second place!

RIT chef teams aim to attend future culinary competitions across the country in order to test their skills, hone in on their craft, and bring new ides and recipes to dining locations on campus.