UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Residential Dining has been recognized at several conferences and events this summer.  

In June, four Penn State chefs traveled to the UMASS Chef Culinary Conference. The chefs competed in a Tournament of Champions event and an American Culinary Federation-sanctioned event. Joseph Ertel (Penn State Berks) and Jamison Steffen (Penn State Altoona) competed in the Tournament of Champions and finished in first place, topping teams from Rutgers, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Richmond and Rice.  

In the ACF-sanctioned event, Ertel and Steffen were joined by University Park chefs Stefan Gawlowicz (Pollock Dining Commons) and David Anderson (South Food District). The foursome continued the University’s success by earning Penn State’s first-ever gold medal in the event.  

In July, several Penn State Residential Dining staff members attended the National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) National Conference in Louisville. Penn State won a Gold award and Grand Prize in “Outreach & Education Program of the Year” for their series of events featuring celebrity chef and author Simon Majumdar in March. Residential Dining was also honored with a Bronze award in “Residential Special Event of the Year” for the unit’s "Dia de los Muertos" special dinner.  

“I couldn’t be prouder of our dining team. They put in an incredible amount of work throughout the year and their peers rewarded them for their efforts,” said Jim Meinecke, director of Residential Dining. “These are truly team wins and signify why we believe our program is one of the best in the country.”