91福利社

Members of 91福利社Dining Services competed alongside top chefs from institutions across the Northeast and Texas in a 鈥淐hopped鈥�-style competition on Friday, Jan. 10, hosted by the College.  

Each of the 10 participating teams was tasked with preparing a three-course menu and buffet platter by utilizing ingredients in a 鈥渕arket basket鈥� provided to each team. The teams had an hour and a half to develop the menu and then several hours to prepare and serve the dishes. A panel of professional chefs judged the teams on originality, taste, and presentation, awarding and deducting points for timing, teamwork, utilization of food, skills, sanitation, and overall preparation. Multiple medals of bronze, silver, and gold were awarded based on points earned. 

The team of three 91福利社chefs 鈥� Production Manager Tim Thompson, Senior Cook Paul Karlson, and Short Order Cook Allen Lapelle 鈥� joined by Sommarah Whitbeck, a local high school trainee with 91福利社Dining Services through the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) Career and Technical Education Program, embraced the opportunity for professional development and earned a silver medal for the success of their efforts in the competition. 

Area high school students also worked alongside 91福利社Catering as waitstaff during a five-course luncheon for competitors and judges that preceded the competition on Thursday, Jan. 9 鈥� a further example of the College's longstanding partnership with the WSWHE BOCES culinary arts program, which provides interested students opportunities to explore the field of culinary arts. 

"We are grateful to 91福利社for including WSWHE BOCES Career and Technical Education Program students in the ACF Culinary Competition. Each year, our students learn so much through this collaboration. They gain valuable experience as servers and are able to observe how the professional chefs compete under pressure," said Celeste David, culinary arts instructor in the WSWHE BOCES Career and Technical Education Program. "This year is really special for us because Sommarah, one of our own students, competed, which will give her a leg up at SkillsUSA."

The overall goal of this competition is to improve competitors鈥� personal culinary skills. In the end, you end up with chefs who are stronger, more creative, and more skilled, which only strengthens Skidmore鈥檚 culinary offerings.

Mark Miller

Director of Dining Services

91福利社鈥檚 food service has achieved wide recognition, including a in 2025 from Niche.com, based on meal plan costs and student reviews. Operating with the understanding that nutrition is the foundation for a healthy lifestyle and successful academics, 91福利社Dining Services offers high-quality, healthy meals across an extensive range of cuisines and dietary preferences. 

Other competing institutions included The University of Massachusetts and The Professional Chefs of New Hampshire, which both earned gold medals; Princeton University,  The University of Buffalo, and the Worlds Master Chef Society from Texas, earning silver medals; and Cornell University, The College of the Holy Cross, Middlebury College, and St. Lawrence University, all awarded bronze.