Move Over, Ramen Noodles

I had the pleasure of attending the University of New Hampshire’s second annual Healthy Chef competition where students competed for the title of UNH Healthy Chef and the bragging rights of having their winning recipe appear on the UNH menu.

When you think of college dining, you probably think of tons of pizza and kids cooking up ramen noodles in their dorm rooms. I remember lots of toaster-over fare and mystery wok creations by my hallmates.  Maybe that’s because we didn’t have the range of options now available. UNH has an amazing dining program, and what’s more, they have Guiding Stars! As a fun way to engage students to think about healthy food and pay attention to the stars throughout the dining hall, UNH developed the Healthy Chef competition. I watched the three top student teams prepare their star-worthy recipes and present to a panel of judges including: Jon Plodzik, UNH Director of Dining; Kristin Lonsinger, UNH Marketing Coordinator; Phoebe Bonaparte-Krogh, UNH Nutrition Intern; Cheryl Krantz, UNH Dining Assistant Manager; and Erin Dow, Guiding Stars Expert Chef.

They had to chop, sear and plate their way to success. You’ve got to love the creative team names – Finger Lickin’, We Cut the Cheese, and Dinner Divas.

And the winners are…Andrew Crispin and Ryan Hurd from team Finger Lickin’ for their Chicken Mushroom Seduction with Lemon-Zest Asparagus and Autumn Orchard Salad!

No fears of the “freshman fifteen” for this gang. They clearly love food and are inspired to make healthy choices. And why would you choose ramen noodles when you can have Chicken Mushroom Seduction?