July 27, 2011

Davidson chefs (l-r) Mark Lewis, Tami Murphy, Craig Mombert and Lisa Risk with dishes they prepared for the competition.

by Cathryn Westra

Healthful, simple, sustainable eating is all the rage in today's culture as Americans shift from processed foods to fresh options. Davidson College's dining hall, Vail Commons, has adapted to this sensible style of cooking in ways that are sure to shock r-eaters.

Blueberry pomegranate pork loin with apple pear chutney and green beans, or shellfish polenta with balsamic brussel sprouts, followed by rich coconut ice cream with berries and toasted macadamias are a few of the award-winning options that Davidson College chefs are happy to serve.

These features were part of a menu offered by Davidson chefs at the 17th annual Chef Culinary Conference in mid-June. In a competition hosted at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, by the American Culinary Federation, Davidson chefs Craig Mombert, Mark Lewis, Tami Murphy and Lisa Risk were one point away from winning a gold medal. In culinary terms, one point equates to a smidgen or a pinch.

During the ACF "Simple Food, Healthy Eating" competition, chef teams from 16 colleges and universities were provided a list of ingredients from which to create a three-course masterpiece of their choice. Teams could add some of their own ingredients but were required to base meals off of the staples provided. Judging includes executive chefs and, in this competition, a master chef who rates participants on criteria such as taste, preparation-sanitation and efficiency.

"Judges want to see delicious, creative meals made sustainably," Mombert said. "If you have a lot of unused product or food waste at the end of the competition, that's big points off."

Ingredients available for the competition are already common on many college menus. The conference is a chance to learn new flavorful recipes using diverse cuisines and cooking techniques to create menu items students will be served during the year. The sustainability component challenges chefs to practice conservative techniques applicable for cooking to campus proportions.

It's difficult to provide choice meals for 1,900 students, but Vail Commons does so with pride.

"A lot of people hear ‘school lunchroom' and they think of shifty lunch ladies and mystery meat," said Mombert. "At Davidson, that's not the case. Most of the staff are highly trained professionals from the Art Institute of Charlotte, Johnson & Wales and the Culinary Institute of America. We know how hard our students work, and we want to serve meals they enjoy."

The quality of dishes doesn't go unnoticed. On Family Weekend, guests often think their meals are specially prepared rather than everyday fare. Faculty, staff and community members also frequent Commons.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.
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