Inside UCR

UCR chef wins gold medal in national cooking challenge

Author: Imran Ghori
July 29, 2024

A chef with UC Riverside Dining Services won a gold medal in a national cooking competition hosted by the National Association of College & University Food Services.

Tye Nielsen, a culinary manager for Dining Services’ catering division, faced five other finalists at the National Culinary Challenge at the association’s national conference in Louisville, Kentucky, on July 18. He had qualified for the competition after winning first place at the association’s Pacific Regional 2024 Culinary Challenge in Tacoma, Washington, in March. 

The association represents culinary staff in collegiate dining with the challenge showcasing exceptional culinary expertise.

Tye Nielsen cooks his dish at the National Culinary Challenge on July 18. (Photo courtesy of Cierra Breckner from the University of Michigan.)

Chefs were given an hour to prepare their dishes before a crowd of onlookers. The dishes were assigned scores of up to 100 points with anyone receiving 90 or more earning a gold medal. This year’s competition was the first where all six finalists won gold medals, Nielsen said.

“When it gets to national the judges get very specific about cooking technique,” he said. “They don’t give you any benefit of the doubt. It’s either perfect or not.”

Competitors were required to use the same ingredients as the regional competition: two Branzino fish, a pound of shrimp, and one cup of bulgur wheat. Nielsen prepared Southern-style shrimp and grits with shishito peppers, and a sweet corn puree to create a sweet and spicy combination.

Tye Nielsen's shrimp and grits dish at the National Culinary Challenge on July 18. (Photo courtesy of Cierra Breckner from the University of Michigan.)

Leading up to the competition, Nielsen set up a mock station at Aberdeen-Inverness Hall on campus where he practiced his recipe four or five times a week for three weeks.

He kept in mind some of the critiques from the regional competition and made adjustments to improve his dish. At last week’s challenge, two judges who were on both panels, commented that they noticed the improvements.

“It was really a lot of work leading up to it,” Nielsen said. “It was a lot of fun. I learned a lot.”

For now, Nielsen is glad to be back to his regular routine at UCR but hopes to compete again and plans to encourage his fellow chefs to do the same.

“This is far beyond what I imagined doing, let alone getting the results I did,” he said.

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