Emily Getz, a cook for Housing and Food Services at Penn State Harrisburg, earned first place in the Mid-Atlantic region at the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) 2025 Culinary Challenge, taking home an American Culinary Foundation (ACF) gold medal for the dish she prepared.
MIDDLETOWN Pa. — Emily Getz, a cook for Housing and Food Services at Penn State Harrisburg, earned first place in the Mid-Atlantic region at the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) 2025 Culinary Challenge, taking home an American Culinary Foundation (ACF) gold medal for the dish she prepared.
The competition took place at the NACUFS 2025 Spring Conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Getz now advances to compete against chefs from around the country at the NACUFS 2025 National Conference, held in July in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Launched in 2001 and adjudicated by the American Culinary Federation, the NACUFS Culinary Challenge celebrates the exceptional culinary talent in collegiate food service. Each year, chefs create an original, nutritionally balanced dish featuring a designated protein, competing on organization, technique and taste. Dishes are judged on a 100-point scale.
Getz earned a gold medal for her dish, which featured buttermilk fried chicken, "dirty rice," fried chicken livers, Brussels sprout slaw, brown butter beets, velouté sauce, hot honey vinaigrette and chicken liver pâté butter.
“It was a privilege to represent Penn State and be here [at the conference] this week with the opportunity to move on to nationals in Salt Lake City,” Getz said. “There’s no way I could have pulled this off without the support of my coworkers, so I’m really grateful for the opportunity."
More information about the competition can be found on the NACUFS website.
Emily Getz, a cook for Housing and Food Services at Penn State Harrisburg, earned first place in the Mid-Atlantic region at the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) 2025 Culinary Challenge with this dish.
