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Students Sample Delicious and Fun Cuisine at Chef Showcase Event

Some of University Culinary Services鈥 top chefs wowed students at Eastway Center and DI Dining with special menu items

The Chef Showcase event, presented by University Culinary Services, offered a chance for four Kent State staff chefs to show off their skills in preparing dishes that were fancy and fun.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Two chefs prepared and served their menu selections at Eastway Center, and two chefs had their stations at DI Dining. Students could sample their offerings or make a meal of them. Event 鈥減assports鈥 were provided that would get punched as students visited each chef鈥檚 station. Completed passports with punches from all four chefs were entered into a prize drawing.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

University Culinary Services wants to see students鈥 reactions to the dishes being served to determine if they may be added to the regular menu rotations of campus dining halls.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

 

Eastway Exclusives

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

Chef Melania Noel Beeman was at the Wheatless Ways station designated to offer students items prepared without gluten. Her special menu items for the day were chicken marsala, arancini rice balls and roasted broccolini. She said she chose to prepare this particular gluten-free menu because her best friend 鈥渓oves it.鈥

Chef Melania graduated from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania as a pastry chef and said that she loves making doughnuts and wedding cakes.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024
Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

At the Culinary Creations station, Chef Heather Chaffee had fun at the fair in mind when she designed her menu for the day. She prepared and served corn dogs, Italian sausage with mozzarella cheese, marinara, pepper and onions on a hoagie bun along with parmesan garlic fries, fried cauliflower 鈥渨ings鈥 and funnel fries.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

The funnel fries, served with powdered sugar and chocolate and caramel sauces for dipping, were a breakout favorite with the students dining at Eastway.
 

Chef Showcase Fall 2024


Chef Heather is a Kent State Magna Cum Laude graduate who thought to herself 鈥渉ow amazing it would be to work at Kent State, where I attended, and then it happened.鈥

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Fine DI Dining

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

At DI Dining inside the DI Hub, two more chefs offered their unique menu items to the hungry students there.  Chef Zou Kahwaji, who has been with Kent State for more than 20 years and has 鈥渓oved every minute of it鈥 was at the Culinary Creations station

He describes his passions as 鈥渃reating unique menus and creative dishes to share with others.鈥 He prepared both hot and cold dishes, the hot menu included butter chicken, basmati rice, Gatar Matar, ginger and garlic broccoli and roasted turmeric cauliflower. His cold items were hummus with pita bread, diced tomato, Kalamata olives and olive oil.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024
Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Chef Zou said that Lebanese cooking is his love. 鈥淭oday was a good day,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 like doing events like these because students need to come and enjoy the different meals that are made.鈥

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

At the Wheatless Ways station, Sous Chef Andrew Phillips prepared dishes that reminded him of holidays with his family. His menu offerings, prepared without gluten, were local mushroom risotto, salmon grilled with cream tomato herb sauce, Mediterranean-roasted vegetables and oven-roasted asparagus.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Chef Andrew has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 14 years and seven of those years have been with Kent State. He said, 鈥淭he sauce with the salmon is my favorite and risotto is something I always make during Thanksgiving.鈥

Chef Showcase Fall 2024
From left: Thomas Bock, Samantha Blose and Max Cervenak enjoyed items from both Chef Heather's and Chef Melania's stations.

 

So, what did the students think?

Anna Marshall, a sophomore nursing major from Mentor was dining with a friend, Kayla Shermer, a sophomore fashion design major also from Mentor. Marshall said that she was looking for a snack to go with her main meal, so she picked the cauliflower 鈥渨ings鈥 and had the funnel fries as a dessert. 鈥淚 thought they were both really good,鈥 she said.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024
Kayla Shermer (left) and Anna Marshall enjoy Chef Heather's culinary creations at Eastway Center.

 

Shermer, who also had funnel fries and cauliflower 鈥渨ings,鈥 along with parmesan garlic fries said 鈥淚 thought everything was so good. I loved the cauliflower. It is perfectly soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside. I鈥檓 a big fan of cauliflower, no matter how it鈥檚 cooked. It definitely puts a smile on my face when I see we have it in the cafeteria.鈥

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Samantha Blose, a sophomore nursing major from Pittsburgh sat at a table with Max Cervenak, a sophomore finance major from Parma and Thomas Bock, a sophomore aeronautics studies major from New Fairfield, Connecticut. Cervenak said 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 tried it all yet, but I鈥檓 really excited. The food looks really good. I feel like there鈥檚 a lot of new stuff this year and I鈥檓 excited about that.

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

 

Blose said 鈥淟ike Max said, I鈥檓 excited for all the new stuff. The chicken is really moist, and the risotto ball is also just really good.鈥 Bock agreed and said 鈥淥verall, it looks a lot better and tastes a lot better so far. I鈥檓 excited to see what else they have.鈥

Chef Showcase Fall 2024

Special thanks to University Culinary Services for their assistance in creating this story and especially Julia Keahey, video and digital marketing coordinator, University Housing and Culinary Services and Lilly Olson. 

POSTED: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 02:50 PM
Updated: Thursday, September 5, 2024 01:07 PM
WRITTEN BY:
Phil B. Soencksen
PHOTO CREDIT:
Julia Keahey, Lilly Olson and Kent State Today