Harvard’s ACF Gold Medal winning team at the Chef Culinary Conference included (l. to r.) Arlene Richburg, Martin Breslin, Benjamin Cevelo and Donn Leonard.

Three teams won American Culinary Federation (ACF) gold medals during the recent 17th Annual Chef Culinary Conference held at the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts. They included the UMass team (Pamela Adams, Tony Jung, Scott Pascal and Shawn Stemp), along with the teams from Harvard University (Martin Breslin, Benjamin Cevelo, Donn Leonard and Arlene Richburg) and Northern Michigan University (Mary Gervasi, Kathy Gischia, Nathan Jennings and Nathan Mileski).

These teams, plus a dozen others representing different college and university dining departments from across the country, were required to write a menu for a three-course meal for four and a buffet platter for 10 after receiving a mystery basket containing whole roasted chicken, whole trout, raw shrimp, bone-in pork loin, Roma tomatoes, green beans, spinach, fennel, Brussels sprouts, red peppers, apples, pears, strawberries and mozzarella cheese.

This team mystery basket competition is the only ACF-sanctioned event of its kind in the U.S.