UNCW Executive Chef wins gold at national competition
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — UNCW Executive Chef Ryan Andress placed first and won gold last week at the Aramark Collegiate Hospitality Table Culinary Excellence Competition.
The contest brought together eight chefs from various campuses to create four innovative menu items from mystery a basket for the national title this past Friday in San Antonio, Texas.
A UNCW spokeswoman said Chef Andress prepared the following dishes during the competition:
- Adobo roasted gulf shrimp with chimichurri, farro and apricot, tomatillo chow-chow parmesan and gremolata (Appetizer)
- Spiced beef and black bean soup with citrus crema, crispy (Soup)
- Texas “Summer” green salad with herb grilled chicken breast strawberries, avocado, queso fresca, chili spiced almonds, chef’s vinaigrette (Salad)
- Chicken fried local red snapper, sweet potato sunchake hash pickled chayote-jalapeno salad and pork belly braised collaras (Entrée)
“It was an honor to represent the UNCW community, my team and my family while showcasing my culinary skills at a national level. I am very thankful for the experience and will continue to strive for excellence through any challenge, no matter how difficult,” said Andress.
Andress started his culinary education journey in 2009 at Cape Fear Community College with his associate’s in applied science in culinary technology. He received his CIA Pro Chef 3 Certification in July 2015. Chef Andress was the 2019 Collegiate Hospitality National Winner/ACF Gold Medalist, 2012 Higher Education Regional Silver Medalist and 2011 Higher Education National Bronze/ACF Gold Medalist. Other competitive career accolades include first place in the Wish Upon a Chef Competition in both 2023 and 2019 and first place in the Food Bank of Eastern NC Iron Skillet in 2015.
