AMHERST, Mass. — Several Penn State chefs attended and participated in competitions at the Chef Culinary Conference hosted by the University of Massachusetts from June 11-16.  

Chefs Mark Kowalski, Jamison Steffen, Jeff Varcoe and Cory Dougherty earned a bronze medal in the American Culinary Federation (ACF) team competition. Additionally, the quartet placed second in a mystery basket competition, and Varcoe and Dougherty finished second in a Tournament of Champions competition.  

In addition to the competitions, the conference’s main topics were Mediterranean diet, plant-forwardness and healthy eating. The conference also featured several hands-on workshops with leading chefs on various cuisines and techniques.  

“I am really proud of our team, and we did a great job representing Penn State,” Kowalski said.  

In the ACF team competition, Penn State's chefs prepared the following: 

• Cornmeal-crusted fried softshell crab and a power greens salad with lemon ginger vinaigrette (appetizer). 

• Pan-roasted perch with steamed oysters, sweet potato and cranberry bean hash, sage oil, and velouté (entrée). 

• Fresh peaches and raspberries with vanilla sabayon, brown butter crumb, and caramelized white chocolate tuile (dessert). 

• Asian glazed pork tenderloin with red fried rice, baby bok choy, and lion’s mane mushrooms (buffet platter).  

In the Tournament of Champions, Varcoe and Dougherty were winners on the first night of competition, but ultimately finished second on the second night to Cornell. The mystery basket competition was hosted by Johnson & Wales University. It required teams to develop a four-course meal in two hours that fit into a blue zone (primarily plant-based) diet criteria.