By Paige Botjer –
On February 22, Gourmet Dining held its first of many fun-filled competitions to come. The challenge was called the Iron Chief Salad Competition and it was one of great ideas and talent among the many participants. Six different teams brought their salad ingredients to the table—some as traditional as mushrooms or spinach, and others as imaginative as cheeseburger—and set out to make the best possible salad.
At six o’clock, 11 students stood in the main dinning hall of the Gilligan Student Union Building (GSUB) dressed in white aprons and paper chief’s hats to complete the look. With a bowl to their left and a cutting board to their right, lined with the five teams of two and the one team of one set out to create the best salad for the judges.
Each chief was unique in creating his or her very own original salad that was sure to impress anyone who ate it. Sophia Sandu created a sweet and spicy Asian fusion salad with chicken, cranberries, almonds and nectarines while the next team created something very different: a cheeseburger salad.
There was even a team that couldn’t decide on which salad would win over the judges so they decided to make two!
And Michael Smalls, a transfer student and also an employee of Gourmet Dining put together an abundance of exotic ingredients to form his salad. But in the end, as Trevor Falzarano, a 20-year-old transfer student from Morris County College said as he cut some red onions for his salad, “It’s going to be delicious!”
While most of the contestants created salads based on their favorite foods or something excellent that they used to eat at a restaurant, one group, Amanda and Anthony, created an excellent salad that Amanda’s mother always used to make. Their salad, Sweet and Slim was very simple with its ingredients but it was the homemade dressing that really made it pop and once topped with heart-shaped strawberries, it was an absolute showstopper.
All of the salads looked amazing and as the judges could testify, the student chefs really outdid themselves with the ingredients that were presented to them. Taking home first place, as well as 100 flex dollars, was Sophia Sandu, with her Sweet and Spicy Asian Fusion Salad. Sophia also gets her salad featured at Gourmet Dining’s salad bar so all students can enjoy her amazing salad.
Second place and 50 flex dollars went to Mike Smalls and Hannah Botjer. And third place went, with 25 flex dollars as a prize, to Amanda and Anthony for their very tasty homemade salad.
New Jersey City University is going through a change for the better and Gourmet Dining is a part in that change. The management at Gourmet Dining plans on making events such as the Iron Chief Competition an ongoing thing. If you would like to know more about these events, visit GSUB or like Gourmet Dining on Facebook.
If you would like to try Sophia’s winning salad, stop by the cafeteria’s salad bar where Gourmet Dinning is presenting the winning salad for students to purchase.