Dining Services presents Culinary Battle of the Externs

Every semester, Binghamton University Dining Services (BUDS) hosts four externs from the Culinary Institute of America, helping to hone their culinary and managerial skills over 14 weeks.

In the past, the externs’ showcase “test” has been an individual pop-up in the dining hall. This year, they went head-to-head in a Culinary Battle of the Externs.

Each extern was challenged to create a dish using a whole chicken — both the leg and breast — with some extra criteria they would need to consider when creating a menu item for a restaurant.

“We asked that their complete dish cost no more than $3.50 per portion,” said BUDS Campus Executive Chef Charlie Williams, who is the creator of the externship program at BUDS. “We wanted them to put the knowledge they gained working in our resident-dining world to the test. The winner had to be able to menu it in all four of our dining halls the following week, so practicality had to be thought of, as well.”

While the externs received feedback from the culinary team leading up to the event, they were on their own for the competition. On March 27, Appalachian Dining Hall hosted the battle featuring:

• Evan Malik, of Williamsburg, Va., with a tender braised chicken thigh in rich brown stock served with crispy golden chicken schnitzel and roasted Brussels sprouts, brightened with lemon, parmesan and buttery spaetzle;
• Jacqueline Delgado, of Indio, Calif., with airline chicken breast and thigh seasoned with traditional enchilada chilies, served alongside Mexican rice, sauteed zucchini and squash, and an irresistible enchilada sauce;
• Jade Lopez, of Las Vegas, with an Asian-style noodle stir-fry with carrots and cabbage, topped with crispy chicken cutlet;
• Phil Williams of Center Moriches, N.Y., with a Vodka chicken parmesan served with spaghetti, chicken meatballs and sauteed broccoli rabe.

“I loved that the dishes offered a little insight into each of the extern’s personalities, seeing how they each interpreted the assignment differently,” Charlie Williams said. “All four prepared something we would have been very proud to offer.”

With criteria including taste, presentation, creative use of ingredients, timeliness, food safety, sanitation, fabrication skills and portion size, the dishes were judged by a panel comprising:

• Paola Mignone, assistant vice president for residential experiences and auxiliaries and executive director of the Binghamton Auxiliary Services Corporation
• Victoria Tompkins, culinary arts instructor at Broome Community College
• Eric Mueller, Sodexo regional executive chef
• Shlok Pikle, BUDS editorial student intern

During the event, students at the dining hall often stopped to watch and talk with the chefs as they prepped and cooked, BUDS Director of Marketing Lori Benson said. Senior Associate Athletic Director Dave Simek emceed the event, with Baxter the Bearcat attending to provide additional hype. And hyping up the externs was a big part of the experience.

“The externs chose their ‘walk up’ song as they entered the dining hall,” Benson said. “There were four cooking stations set up in the dining room with a ‘video hub’ in the middle. We did a live stream of the chefs’ cooking and had it playing on the screen in the dining room so the students could watch as they dined.”

The externs’ stations, which included a poster with their photo and bio, were across from the judges’ panel, though Benson said the judges also walked around the stations to observe the cooking. A vendor fair for attendees was also set up at the same time in the dining hall, featuring food samples from many of BUDS’ current vendors, as well as tables for the BUDS health and wellness and BUDS Sustainability featuring the Food Recovery Network.

Delgado’s dish was the winner, and was served in the dining halls on April 3. Williams complimented the taste and appearance of her dish, and also applauded the work of all the externs.

“Their work ethic, attitude, personalities and clear passion for the industry have really made this group stand out in my mind,” he said. “All four have brought so much energy and passion to their everyday assignments.”

Williams said he appreciated how this event pushed the externs out of their comfort zones to accomplish something remarkable.

“The result was something our campus community truly enjoyed, and I hope a rewarding experience that helped the four of them grow.”