Cuisine de Campus

The Global Training Initiative and NC State Dining hosted the university’s inaugural Culinary World Cup this fall. Student chefs sharpened their knives — and their cooking skills — to showcase their mastery of international dishes.

Students competed in cross-cultural teams cooking in the state-of-the-art teaching kitchen in the Carmichael Gym. In the preliminary rounds, students were placed in one of 12 teams who competed in a two-hour window. Four teams then moved on to the semifinals, where they competed in a head-to-head knockout round for a place in the finals. 

Creative Competition

All students on the NC State campus were eligible to compete, but competitors were expected to have basic kitchen skills and were required to watch a knife safety video and sign a liability waiver. Each team’s dish(es) were scored on taste, creativity and visual appeal, with guest judges, including professional chefs, coming from across the campus community.

“Part of the challenge for this competition was working in cross-cultural, multicultural teams to learn from each other and about one another’s culture,” said Madison Sinclair, international programs specialist. “Applicants signed up as individuals, and were then placed on a team. It was amazing to see how everyone worked together to achieve tasty results.”

The final two teams competed in a live-streamed head-to-head competition on November 9. Team 8/9 was crowned Culinary World Cup champions, using the secret ingredient of feta cheese in their final creation that impressed the judges and the audiences. The winning team was made up of Menna Elsayed, Cate Hawting and Roopa Velraja. 

Meet Our Winners

After the finals, we spoke with two members of the winning team about the competition, what they learned, and advice for budding campus chefs.

Cate Hawting, junior environmental sciences major

How did you develop a love for cooking?

I grew up watching Food Network and helping my parents cook. Both of them are great cooks, so food is a pretty big deal in my family.

Why did you decide to enter the competition?

Now that I’m in college living in a dorm, I don’t get to do as much cooking as I used to, so I thought it would be fun to get back in the kitchen for a little while. I was also drawn to the global aspect of the competition; I love trying different cuisines and I was interested in cooking alongside people of different backgrounds.

How did you develop your recipe?

We really just made it as we went, taking all ideas into consideration and giving each other feedback as we tasted throughout the 50 minutes.

What does it feel like to win the inaugural competition?

It was very exciting and an honor to win the competition. It definitely gave me some bragging rights to take back home to my family kitchen. Overall though, I’m just grateful to have participated and I had a lot of fun cooking creatively.

Do you have any advice for amateur chefs out there?

Don’t be afraid to try new things! Whether it’s an unfamiliar recipe or cooking with no recipe at all, experimenting in the kitchen is the best way to grow your skills and find new favorite foods.

Roopa Velraja, junior environmental engineering major

How did you develop a love for cooking?

I grew up cooking a lot with my mother – my dad has diabetes so my mom would try out many different recipes and cuisines in order to make food that would fit his diet. I used to help cook and taste her new recipes, and this gave me experience in figuring out how to “fix” food in case something went wrong.

Why did you decide to enter the competition?

One of my friends entered the competition and invited me to join as well! We had hoped to be placed on the same team, but ended up being on different ones. I was skeptical at first, but after the first round I realized how much I enjoyed cooking with others and trying new recipes.

How did you develop your recipe?

Menna had a great idea to make a sauce for pasta using feta and then adding mushrooms on top to give a meaty effect. I love cooking with mushrooms, as they are my favorite vegetable, so I offered to take over that part. I used my go-to spices, garlic and onion, and broiled them with the mushrooms in order to get a flavorful addition to our pasta. 

What does it feel like to win the inaugural competition?

I honestly still can’t believe it! I had no clue this was an inaugural competition, but I am absolutely thrilled to have won it. It had always been my dream since I was a little child to participate in an “official” cooking competition, and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to do that here at NC State.

Do you have any advice for amateur chefs out there?

Practice! Trying new recipes and struggling through them is the best way to become a better cook. Following steps can be a good start, but trying to use your own intuition and skills when cooking will help you find what works and what doesn’t.

“My dad is Australian and my mom is half Italian. As such, a lot of the culturally relevant dishes that my family cooks are Italian or inspired by Australian/English cuisine. That being said, myself and my family also enjoy trying lots of dishes from countries all around the world, including Lebanese, Indian, and many other types of food,” said Hawting. “My favorite dish to make is one my family makes once a year on Christmas Eve. We spend at least half the day making pasta from scratch and eat it with a lemony seafood sauce containing shrimp and scallops. I love it because of all of the memories of my family and I making it together.”

“I am a first-generation Indian-American student of Tamil descent. My favorite dish to cook and eat is fried rice, as I enjoy mixing different cuisines and ingredients to add variety to the dish. I usually make fried rice with Indo-Chinese, Korean, and Indian elements to create a dish that is new and exciting!” said Velraja.

The winning team will have their recipe featured in one of the campus dining halls.

This post was originally published in Provost's Office News.