Battle of the mushrooms: the tri-campus showdown
UTSC hosts the first-ever tri-campus chef competition where all three U of T campuses competed in a cooking showdown.

The University of Toronto (U of T) Scarborough (UTSC) kicked off the first-ever Tri-Campus Chef Competition in an epic culinary showdown at UTSC’s Harmony Commons. On February 28, the university hosted a culinary tournament involving duos from each campus to compete against each other and determine the superior cuisine via a rewarding prize. Chefs were challenged to incorporate a themed ingredient in their dishes being mushrooms.

In this competition, each duo had 75 minutes to make a set of the same three entree plates using mushrooms as a key ingredient. The overall dishes were judged on four criteria: visual appeal, uniqueness, aroma, taste, and degree of difficulty. The prize for winning: bragging rights and a large gold trophy. Each campus team had a UTSC runner available to assist the chefs, as not all teams were familiar with the UTSC campus. The event was hosted by Todd Wadsworth, who works in Food Partnerships at UTSC.

This event aimed to spark playful fun among students while allowing chefs from all three campuses to network and showcase their professional skills.

The teams

Representing the U of T St. George (UTSG) team, Executive Chef of Catering and Events Dale Meek and

Executive Sous-Chef Chef Trish Donnelly arrived ready to impress, while Culinary Director Chef Diana Andrade and Director of Residents Dining Chef Sabrina Bennett proudly represented the U of T Mississauga (UTM) campus. Before working full-time as head chef at UTM, Andrade sold street food and worked with several companies, including Air Canada and Ford. She earned her red seal certification from Humber College before supplying food for Canada’s largest sports teams, including the Toronto Raptors and Maple Leafs.

From the UTSC campus were Executive Chef Leroy Whisker and Chef Frank Cannerella, the chef manager at UTSC. Whisker trained in culinary arts in London and worked in some of the city’s five-star hotels. He even casually served dishes to British royals including Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Both UTSC chefs were effortlessly composed in their promises to win, with Cannerella stating “We got the home advantage so good luck to you guys” and Whisker emphasizing “Here to bring on the showdown and bring it right here.”

Cooking showdown

UTM’s Bennett started off the cooking showdown by peeling plantains and mangoes while Andrade chopped the star ingredient—mushrooms. The team aimed to create a mofongo-inspired dish. Originally from Puerto Rico, mofongo is made by mashing fried plantains and incorporating various flavours. The team opted for plantain cups filled with mushrooms and accompanied by a homemade jerk sauce to incorporate spicy and smoky Caribbean blends.

Meanwhile, the UTSG team also focused on chopping mushrooms for their dish. Even though the team was intensely silent, their drive for the competition was riveting. The duo started sauteing the mushrooms in a large pan, beginning the process of a slow-cooked sauce also known as Ragu. The team decided to create mushroom ragu on homemade brioche bread served with mushroom bacon salad. Before the competition, the duo had prepped homemade brioche bread to be baked, along with a unique type of mushroom bacon. To make the mushroom bacon, the team marinated mushrooms in salt, sugar and other dry seasonings for 36 hours before pressing them into a tofu press and smoking to create a texture that closely resembled actual bacon. 

UTSC’s Cannerella made his grandmother’s authentic marinara sauce recipe with fresh basil. Whisker explained that they were making arancini di riso, or arancini balls, which are stuffed and fried Italian rice balls. The UTSC team’s take on the classic dish was to fill fifty percent of the arancini balls with a mixture of wild mushrooms and the other fifty percent being lamb and truffle, to be served in Cannerella’s homemade sauce. 

Whisker caught the eye of the audience by helping fellow competitors, whether by helping them navigate their frying stations in Harmony Commons or lending oil to whoever needed it. Despite the chaotic competition, he remained calm and supportive, embodying true sportsmanship. His willingness to assist others, even in the heat of the competition, earned him admiration from several viewers as well as the audience.

The judging process

The competition was being live-streamed from all three campuses to students across U of T. The competition garnered the attention of many, despite the hustle and bustle of academia. Eyes were glued to the screen as minutes counted down, and the chefs began plating in succession. Three judges from each campus taste-tested all dishes: David Kim from UTSG, Mark Overton from UTM, and Tim Tang from UTSC. 

The judges first tasted the UTM’s plantain mushroom cups and complimented the dish’s perfect balance of sweetness and spice. Tang emphasized the cups were “so good” after enjoying a bite.

The next dish judged was UTSG’s mushroom ragu on brioche, which the judges also enjoyed as they admired the sauce of the mushrooms along with the freshly baked bread. Overton commented that the dish featured “fantastic, great-smelling, super creamy mushrooms.”

Finally, UTSC’s arancini balls received starry-eyed amazement from all the judges, who enjoyed the mushroom pairings with lamb, and the marinara sauce. Kim stated, “Delicious! Great flavour and texture profile. The cheese is slowly coming off, I’m gonna stuff my face!” 

The audience was also able to weigh in on the dishes and vote online via Mentimeter. Team UTSG secured 136 votes, Team UTM secured 514, and Team UTSC garnered the most with 531 votes winning the People’s Choice Award. As for the judges, the winner of the first-ever tri-campus cooking competition went to UTSC with 131.5 points. 

The duo received a massive trophy, while other teams also received trophies for participating and a high-quality knife set. “Here at U of T, absolutely everybody is a winner,” said Wadsworth. “We want you guys to have something on your shelves that you guys can reminisce and be sure to remember forever.”

However, this certainly isn’t the end of the tri-campus rivalry. All three chefs will have another chance to compete next year and battle for bragging rights once again.