Excellence in college dining honored with awards at NACUFS’ 2024 conference

The National Association of College & University Food Services (NACUFS) awarded several university dining teams and individuals at its conference in Louisville last week. One of NACUFS’ most recognizable set of awards, the Loyal E. Horton Awards, were named after a founding member of NACUFS who was known for innovation. The Culinary Challenge event is always highly anticipated, featuring chefs who won in their respective regions. Also this year at the conference, NACUFS’ highest honor, the Theodore W. Minah Distinguished Service Award, went to Tufts University’s Patti Klos.

Loyal E. Horton Awards

The gold, silver and bronze award winners of the Loyal E. Horton Awards were announced in June and celebrated at a special awards luncheon over the weekend. Here are the grand prize winners of the Loyal E. Horton Dining, Nutrition and Sustainability awards:

University of North Texas won Innovative Dining Program of the Year; Residential Special Event of the Year and Catering Program of the Year.

Liberty University won Residential Dining Facility of the Year and New Facility of the Year.

University of California-San Diego won Renovation of the Year.

Marywood University won Catering Special Event of the Year.

SUNY at Buffalo, Campus Dining and Shops won Retail Sales Single Concept of the Year.

Pennsylvania State University won Outreach & Education Program of the Year.

The NACUFS 2024 Nutrition Awards recognize outstanding nutrition and wellness programs implemented in college dining to serve a dynamic student population with changing needs. The grand prize winner is Boston College.

The NACUFS 2024 Sustainability Awards recognize college dining’s role in the overall environmental sustainability and social responsibility of a campus. The grand prize winner is Simon Fraser University.

NACUFS 2024 Culinary Challenge

After an evening of intense culinary competition overseen by ACF (American Culinary Federation) judges, Chef Jeffrey MacDonald of the University of Massachusetts (UMass) was named the first-place winner. Representing the Northeast region for the second year in a row, MacDonald, chef de cuisine at UMass, won an ACF gold medal. His dish: Kombu-cured branzino with miso matcha mousseline and shrimp gyoza dashi cream, wasabi pea puree, bulgur wheat stir fry, soy-glazed mushrooms and baby bok choy. Notably, all of the competing chefs received the honor of an ACF gold medal as well.

MacDonald was upbeat after his win, praising all of the competitors for “an amazing job,” and thanking his wife for her support and for caring for their three children while he practiced on his days off, as well as his mentor Anthony Jung, executive chef at UMass, for his support, input and feedback.

Chef Bouakhanh “Bou” Greene of the University of Michigan won second place and an ACF gold medal with her pan-seared branzino with Laotian fish essence, shrimp crispy balls, bulgur, mung bean, crushed peanuts and savoy cabbage wrap. Before the competition, Greene shared some behind-the-scenes observations with FSD, particularly about the way the judges watch each chef’s every move, such as setting up the perfect mise en place. “In our world of chefs, it’s ‘everything in its place,’” she said. “I have to be mentally and physically prepared … I want to make sure everything I do in front of the judges is a beautiful dance that they can’t keep their eyes off of, working extremely clean and organized … the judges want to see if I can cook, have creativity and professionalism.”