FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2008
Contact: Jessica Wong
(662) 329-7119

MUW students place third in national culinology competition

COLUMBUS, Miss. – Students from Mississippi University for Women’s
Culinary Arts Institute were awarded third place at the finals of the Research Chefs Association Student Culinology Competition in Seattle, Wash., on Sunday.

Team leader Leslie Beach of Columbus and her teammates Johnna Emerson of Glen, Laura Farrell of Lexington, Ky., and Catherine Stewart of
Philadelphia won $1500 for their entree of lemon ginger salmon with toasted Israeli couscous and steamed asparagus.

Johnson and Wales University, Providence was awarded first place and
the University of Cincinnati received second. Other schools that competed were Louisiana State University and Mississippi State University.

Dr. Jim Fitzgerald, director of MUW’s Culinary Arts Institute, said, “They represented MUW and the Culinary Arts Institute with class and distinction in this very prestigious competition combining culinary arts with food science. The finals held in Seattle are a culmination of six months of hard work that our team progressed through to make it to the Iron Chef-style competition.”

In order to be placed as one of the three finalists, the teams must create a gourmet meal for two that would possibly be sold in the frozen food section of a grocery store based on northwestern cuisine. The frozen meal and concept was then sent in to be judged to see if they would advance to the finals.

At the finals, the team’s goal was to recreate its entrée onsite which was then judged against the reheated frozen entrée initially submitted.

“With back to back awards in two straight years, MUW culinary arts has made a mark in the RCA-sponsored research event,” Fitzgerald said.