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UConn dining hall staff competes in annual Culinary Olympics

The annual event for dining staff brings lots of cooks to the kitchen for the competition.

STORRS, Conn. — They are setting the table for the semester ahead on the UConn Storrs campus and the courses are of the culinary variety.

For the 22nd year, the University of Connecticut’s dining services put on its “Culinary Olympics” which challenges its dining hall staff in a sort of “Top Chef” competition.

“This tradition continues,” said Rob Landolphi, the assistant director of culinary development at UConn. He then added, “This an opportunity to show off their skills and have their personalities come out and to break out what they do on a day-to-day basis.”

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UConn Production Chef Curtis Bangs impressed the judges with his ode to a classic – making his own version of the now-discontinued “Choco Taco”.

“When Klondike discontinued the Choco Taco, the internet went crazy – they were demanding it back – so, I figured, I could do it maybe a bit better than they did,” Bangs laughed.

Each dining hall staff brought their A-game to claim bragging rights, but the chefs agreed that the event always promotes togetherness.

“We say when you come to college, we will see the students more than any professor will because they [the students] will be in our dining halls three or four times a day… and this is a great way to formulate relationships,” Landolphi added.

Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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