Annual Culinary Excellence Competition: Results Are In!
Ten Chefs were selected to represent themselves and their respective schools at our annual ACE Culinary Excellence competition. With their teams behind them, these talented culinarians began months of practicing, honing their skills, creating recipes, testing timelines and planning their travel. The week of March 17, the chefs traveled from as far away as New England and California to Elon University in North Carolina.
The competition began early afternoon on Thursday, March 20.
Each chef was given one hour to produce four identical plates using one whole chicken and a general pantry. We were joined by four professional American Culinary Federation (ACF) judges, who carefully evaluated each chef’s skills and final presentations. With extremely close scores, our winners were:
- Bronze Medal: Bernie Solis (University of Redlands)
- Silver Medal: Keerati Sartyoungkul “Danny” (Elon University)
- Gold Medal: Jonathan Burns (Wake Forest University)
College food service is in very good hands with Harvest Table Culinary Group.
Competition Judge
American Culinary Federation
In the top spot, earning a Gold Medal was Chef Jonathon Burns from Wake Forest University. He will travel to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, California to compete in a National ACE competition this July 16.
As a North Carolina native, Jonathan’s culinary roots are grounded in inherited traditional cooking techniques and ingredients indigenous to the region. While working in foodservice his entire life, Jonathan is a chef by trade and an alumnus of a local ACF Culinary School. During his culinary journey, he has competed in such ACF culinary competitions as Hot Foods Team, Cold Food Culinary Salon and Quiz Bowl.
Jonathan has honed his culinary career in many roles over the years, from shoveling coals in BBQ pits to feeding multiple course meals to celebrities in intimate settings. This scope brings great integrity to his craft. The most rewarding part of his career has been helping to create a sustainable food system for local farmers through local food hubs. As Culinary Director at Wake Forest University, he has been able to develop these same relationships with local farmers, introducing them to a college dining setting that helps create a sustainable lifestyle for them, encouraging grants and certifications to help grow their farms.
Jonathan has experienced the comfort food can bring to a community. That community – whether a family setting or catered banquet – creates a common bond. Great food prepared with integrity while honoring culture is what drives the Chef Burns’ culinary passion.
Congratulations to each of the Chefs who competed. It is no small thing – and takes a tremendous amount of work – to put oneself through this rigorous process and to be judged, all while still taking care of students every day on our college and university campuses. Rounding out our field of contestants were:
- Douglas Mcgee (Brandeis University)
- Eric King (Salem College)
- Steven Aranda (High Point University)
- Crystal Sanchez (Regis University)
- Shelith Franks (University of Rochester)
- Kate Day (Springfield College)
To quote one of our ACF Judges, “Great job by all the competitors today. College food service is in very good hands with Harvest Table Culinary Group.”
Many thanks to each of our Chefs for representing Harvest Table Culinary Group so well. And to all those who contributed to the success of ACE:
- Elon Team: Once again Elon set the bar high in hospitality and willingness to host both the competition and the beautiful awards reception.
- Guest Experience Managers (GEMs): This team always makes us look good. From helping the chefs with their bio’s and headshots, to social media posts.
- Last but not least, many thanks go to our leader, Mary Thornton, for continuing to support culinary and push us to be better each and every day.
