NC State Dining recently held an internal culinary competition to boost creativity and develop recipes to inspire menus on campus. The competition, titled Master the Melt, took place August 1, 2023.
Three NC State Dining employees participated in the competition: Carol Xiao from 1887 Bistro, Sean Mangroo from Fountain Dining Hall and Erica Glasco from 1887 Bistro and One Earth. Each competitor showcased their skills in the kitchen through their unique take on the classic melt sandwich. The participants created the following dishes, respectively: the Gotcha Oyster Melt, the Italian Cheeseburger Melt and the Red Wolf Chicken Sandwich.
Each dish competed for two awards: the people’s choice award and the overall winner. The dishes were scored based on creativity, cooking techniques, color and texture, recipe accuracy, flavor profiles and use of ingredients available within NC State Dining’s Menu Management System (CBORD). In order to accurately reflect a range of opinions, the judges for the people’s choice award included a student, a dining staff member and a campus partner. Carol Xiao’s Gotcha Oyster Melt won both awards.
Stay tuned for more opportunities to compete!