CWU’s Catering Chef Will Compete in Regional Culinary Challenge

Darren Macri, Central Washington University’s Catering Chef, has been selected to compete in the National Association of College and University Food Services’ (NACUFS) 2019 Pacific Regional Culinary Challenge.

Macri will travel to Spokane in early April to face-off against some of the region’s best and brightest university chefs in a live competition. Contestants will be judged based on their organization, cooking skills, culinary technique, taste, and style.

“Chefs in the competition will prepare their entrée within a strict timeframe,” noted Joseph Pearson, executive director of CWU’s Auxiliary Enterprises, which includes the university’s dining services. “They’ve been given some of the ingredients to incorporate in their dishes including a mandatory protein, which is venison saddle.”

Winners of each of the six NACUFS regional competitions will square off at the organization’s national conference, to be held in Denver, Colorado, in July, for gold, silver, and bronze medals before a live audience of college and university foodservice professionals, industry experts, and American Culinary Federation judges.

“We’re honored that Chef Macri has been invited to compete in the challenge and know he’ll do a great job representing the university,” Pearson added.

Macri has served as CWU’s catering and conference chef since 2012. He is a CWU alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in music, specializing in percussion performance.

Media contact: Richard Moreno, Department of Public Affairs, 509-963-2714, Richard.Moreno@cwu.edu.