BY PATRICIA BREAKEY
DELHI NEWS BUREAU
DELHI _ The SUNY Delhi hot
food team will show off their cooking
talents on Fox & Friends at 7
a.m. Wednesday.
Sarah Thurgood, SUNY Delhi
team captain, of Bovina Center,
Kenny Liranzo of New York City,
Joe Michaud of Gansevoort, Julie
Hernandez of Bainbridge and Mike
Specioso of Binghamton will appear on the
FOX Network show with the winners of the
35th U.S. Army Culinary Arts Competition,
Chef Tom Recinella, SUNY Delhi culinary
team manager, said Friday.
The State University College of Technology
at Delhi team is competing this weekend
in the American Culinary Federation’s
Northeast Regional Conference in Hershey,
Pa., with hopes of advancing to the national
competition in Anaheim, Calif., in August.
They will arrive home late Sunday night
to begin preparations for the 50 desserts
they will be serving to 50 cadets from
West Point during the early morning
television show.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Russell
Campbell, chief of the Culinary
Skills Division, Joint Culinary
Center of Excellence, said the Delhi
students were asked to be sous-chefs
to the Military Chef of the Year and
Junior Chef of the Year because of
the relationship Recinella has had
with the Army Culinary Team.
For the last two years, Recinella has
taken his students to the military culinary
competition in Fort Lee, Va., so the students
can help the soldiers prepare.
“Some of these guys
could be coming back
from Iraq and have never
heard of the category
they are going to be
competing in,” Recinella
said.
Recinella said 10
students went to Fort
Lee over winter break to
work with the soldiers
to help them hone their
cooking skills.
Campbell said the
SUNY Delhi students are
“incredibly competent.
They hold workshops
and provide training for
our student chefs. It is
fabulous that they are
that dedicated.”
Campbell said the
invitation to appear on
the FOX morning show
came about after a media
release was sent out announcing
the winners of
the Army’s culinary arts
competition.
“This thing unfolded
over six days,” Recinella
said. “The Army has
been very impressed
with our students, and
they wanted them to be
there.”
The cooking for the
show will be done in a
containerized unit that
will be sitting in the
middle of Times Square,
Recinella said.
The Army chefs will
prepare two courses to
be served to the 50 cadets
with assistance from
the Delhi team.
“They are going to
make a couple of breakfast-
like courses,”
Recinella said. “The
students will prepare
a hazelnut gateau with
Granny Smith apple sorbet
and a dried cherry
sauce. It is a really
elegant dessert.”
“It is going to be
great,” Campbell said.
“We are all very excited.”
Chefs Victor Sommo
and James Margiotta
coach Delhi’s hot food
team with Recinella
serving as the team’s
manager.
The SUNY Delhi
hot food team won the
2010 American Culinary
Federation State
championship Feb. 13
at Schenectady County
Community College,
achieving Delhi’s highest
score at a state culinary
competition.
The Army’s annual
Culinary Arts Competition
invites chefs
from throughout the
Army, Marines, Navy,
Air Force and Coast
Guard chefs to come and
compete against each
other. More than 200
competitors registered
for the weeklong series
of events. The American
Culinary Federation
sanctions the competition.
“It’s actually the
largest ACF sanctioned
event,” Campbell said.
“It’s all military chefs,
but it’s also the largest
ACF sanctioned event in
the country.”
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