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Menu Madness: Meet this year’s competitors

We’re in for some tasty matchups in FM's 2017 Menu Madness

Tara Fitzpatrick, Senior Editor

March 20, 2017

15 Slides
menu madness

Get ready for March Madness, food style. The matchups here are played out on the food court, not the basketball court. Our selection committee has chosen this field of 16 schools to participate in Menu Madness. Each week we’ll narrow the field until we crown the ultimate college food champion.

Here’s how it works. Our bracket is made up of the top seeds in each of the NCAA men’s basketball regions. [Editor’s note: Some schools declined to participate so lower seeds were substituted, where necessary] There will be four rounds of voting to determine the winner. The school that gets the most votes in each round will move on, so make sure you get your student base involved. For the competition, each school put up its all-star player—a best-seller, student-favorite or innovative dish.

To get started, check out the all-star menu items and choose your favorite in each matchup.

You can vote for the winners here.

About the Author

Tara Fitzpatrick

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group

Tara Fitzpatrick is Food Management’s senior editor and a contributor to Restaurant Hospitality and Nation’s Restaurant News, creating editorial content for digital, print and events. Tara holds a bachelor of science degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State University. Before joining Food Management in 2008, Tara was associate editor at National Association of College Stores in Oberlin, Ohio. Prior to that, Tara worked as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Lorain, Ohio, where she lives now. Tara is a fan of food history, legends, lore, ghost stories, urban farming and old cookbooks. 

Tara Fitzpatrick’s areas of expertise include the onsite foodservice industry (K-12 schools, colleges and universities, healthcare and B&I), menu trends, sustainability in foodservice, senior dining, farm-to-table and innovation.

Tara Fitzpatrick is a frequent webinar and podcast host and has served on the board of directors for IFEC (International Food Editors Consortium).

Tara Fitzpatrick’s experience:

Senior Editor, Food Management (Feb 2008-present)

Associate Editor, National Association of College Stores (2005-2008)

Reporter, The Morning Journal (2002-2005)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-fitzpatrick-4a08451/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tara_Fitzie

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/tarafitzie/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tara.y.fitzpatrick

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