Students showcase culinary talents at the annual Cardinal Cook-Off competition

Stanford undergrad and graduate students showcased their culinary talents at Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) Stanford Dining’s Cardinal Cook-Off competition at the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons on Jan. 24. The Iron Chef-style event, now in its 16th year, made history when two teams placed first in the annual competition.

Kevin Guo, ’22, of Team Three prepares the risotto for his “ooo-baby pork chops” at the 16th annual Cardinal Cook-Off on Jan. 24 at the Arrillaga Family Dining Commons. (Image credit: Keith Uyeda)

The event is hosted each year by Stanford Dining as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of food and to encourage healthy eating habits. During the week leading to the competition, contestants concoct their original recipes with guidance and mentorship from an R&DE professional chef. Using locally sourced and sustainable ingredients, students this year were challenged to create a dish that featured heirloom mushrooms and pork chops.

On competition night, four teams of two students had 45 minutes to prepare their recipes before a room full of diners and a panel of judges.

Team One consisted of grad students Vince Pane, chemistry, and Scott Zhang, mathematics. Working under the mentorship of Chef Erica Holland-Toll, the students prepared “crispy porkobello with forest mushroom and prosciutto ragu.”

Pane said his time spent working in a lab helped prepare him for the kitchen. “We were spit-balling all these weird ratios, trying to flesh out ingredient quantities for our crispy porkobello, but luckily, after measuring out milligrams on a balance, I’m used to eyeballing,” he said, adding that Holland-Toll’s guidance came in handy. “She was really enthusiastic and generous of her time and even though she’s so busy, she anticipated our every question.”

Team Two consisted of undergrad economics majors Marco Lorenzon, ’20, and Christopher Lu, ’20. Working with Chef Tami Lin, the students prepared “seared pork chop with parmigiano mushroom risotto.” And on Team Three, undergrads Ruben Sanchez, ’22, management science and engineering, and Kevin Guo, ’22, computer science, worked under the mentorship of Chef Joe Guinto. Their dish “ooo-baby pork chops” included a creamy risotto studded with sautéed portabellas and chanterelles, then topped with a dusting of knobby fungi, also known as shaved truffles.

Undeclared undergrad Alp Akis, ’21, returned to the cook-off with his Team Four partner, Ricky Young, ’21, engineering physics, after placing second last year. Working with Chef Daniel Donguines, they took inspiration from Young’s hometown, Tokyo, for their ambitious dish, “tonkotsu ramen.” Tucking thinly sliced chashu pork into a bowl of ramen noodles made from scratch, they topped their creation with a sous-vide mirin-infused egg yolk. Young called the culinary oeuvre “a happy accident” when a poached egg proved too runny.

Once each dish was complete, the contestants plated their creations and awaited as a panel of judges critiqued their work. In a surprise twist, two teams – Three and Four – tied for first place and each contestant won a set of quality chef knives and $100 in Cardinal Dollars. Each winner also received a free class at The Teaching Kitchen@Stanford, an R&DE program for Stanford students, faculty and staff to learn valuable culinary skills. But for winner Young, the real prize was getting to create an enjoyable dining experience for others.

“What definitely motivates me to cook is creating a dish that puts smiles on other people’s faces,” he said.

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