PETALING JAYA: A student team from Taylor's University won gold in a culinary competition in the United States with their own take on an American traditional stew called burgoo.
The team, comprising four final year Bachelor of Science (Hons) Culinology students, were adjudged winners of the 2019 Student Culinology Competition yesterday in the US.
Other higher educational institutions participating included the Southwest Minnesota State University and University of Guelph.
Chiew Jun Kang, the team leader, said that they wanted to attempt something unique with their entry to the competition and transformed the dish into a pie.
“We wanted to reimagine the dish and felt that a pie would be a good take. We made a sorghum pie crust and filled it with chicken burgoo, sriracha bell pepper gel and mashed potatoes. The final touch was spiced carrot puree.
“It turned out to be our best decision as the judges loved our pie crust and also shared their appreciation for the packaging that we developed,” he said.
Taylor’s University Faculty of Social Sciences and Leisure Management Executive Dean Professor Dr. A. R. Neethiahnanthan said the students' spirit of excellence and willingness to stay the course was representative of Taylor’s spirit, and an embodiment of why it was recently named the 14th best university in the world for the Hospitality & Leisure Management subject in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2019 recently.
The four students, Chiew, Lee Chor Yang, Adrian Chua Sern Yi, and Hii Wen Suog, worked to create the Kentucky-inspired dish suitable for a fast casual restaurant menu.
Chiew said that they were inspired by the theme and even named the team after a proud Kentucky native – Muhammad Ali, who was born in Louisville.
"We wanted our product to pack a punch and leave an impact with the judges and that’s what we ended up doing,” he said.
The competition was organised by the Research Chef Association to tap into creative young minds in the field of food product development.
The team won a trophy and US$2,500.