The National Association of College & University Food Services honored the contributions of five individuals with its annual awards and recognized the culinary excellence of six chefs via its annual competition. The organization also recognized six-member institutions with its Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards and Sustainability Award.

Culinary Awards

Chef C. David Wolf CEC from The Ohio State University won the NACUFS 2023 Culinary Challenge. He was among six college and university chefs who earned medals from the American Culinary Federation for their efforts in this competition.

Chef Wolf won first place and received an ACF gold medal for his Asian inspired Pork – three ways. Chef Jeffrey MacDonald of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst won second place and an ACF gold medal for his stuffed prosciutto wrapped pork tenderloin and braised smoked pork belly. In third place and with another ACF gold medal was chef Jacob Gandy of the University of Utah for his crepinette of pork wrapped in Swiss chard. Chef Athan Spanos of Pennsylvania State University, in fourth place, won an ACF silver medal; Chef Héctor Giancarlo Pérez-Scolari of the University of California San Diego, fifth, won an ACF silver medal; and Chef Chad McDonald of the University of Houston won an ACF silver medal.

The NACUFS Culinary Challenge was created in 2001 and recognizes the culinary expertise within collegiate foodservice. Each year, a protein is selected – this year, a trio of three different cuts of pork – which competitors must use to create an original recipe to form a nutritionally balanced plate. The competition begins at the regional level.

More than 40 collegiate chefs from NACUFS member institutions in 6 regions qualified to face off in competitions throughout March during the NACUFS 2023 Spring Conference Series. Each of the winners, representing the Pacific, Continental, Midwest, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southern NACUFS regions, advanced to the final competition.

Dining and Sustainability Awards

The following NACUFS member institutions were the recipients of the organization’s 2023 Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards:

• Residential Dining Concepts: Tufts University
• Residential Dining Facility: Cornell University
• Residential Dining – Special Event: Hendrix College
• Retail Sales – Single Concept/Multiple Concepts/Marketplace: SUNY at Buffalo, Campus Dining and Shops
• Special Event: University of North Texas

The NACUFS 2023 Sustainability Awards grand prize winner is the University of Michigan, for its submission in the outreach and education category.

Named after a NACUFS founder, past president and highly regarded innovator, the Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards celebrate members' innovative ideas and program implementation. The NACUFS 2023 Sustainability Awards recognize the pivotal role dining services have in the overall environmental sustainability and social responsibility of a campus.

Distinguished Service Awards

NACUFS presented its 2023 Richard Lichtenfelt Award to Barry Greenberg, University of Iowa and Jenna Goins, CAE, MBA, director of membership & marketing, NACUFS. This award honors individuals for their contributions to NACUFS on a national level.

The 2023 David R. Prentkowski Distinguished Lifetime Member Award went to C. Dennis Pierce, retired executive director of dining services at the University of Connecticut and Dean Wright, retired managing director of dining at Brigham Young University. With nominations provided by peers and colleagues, this award honors individuals who have retired from college and university foodservice leadership or other positions that supported the betterment of college and university foodservices.

NACUFS presented the 2023 Daryl Van Hook Industry Award to Tom Lyons, vice president of business development at Johnson Lancaster & Associates. Nominations for this award also come from peers and colleagues in recognition of an industry member who has provided educational support, product innovation, and outstanding service to the association.