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Rossella Cangialosi, a 4.0 student at Monroe College, has been chosen as one of five amateur chefs to compete in the American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Student Chef of the Year competition that will take place in Orlando this August.
Cangialosi has served on Monroe’s culinary competition team for three years, acting as captain at the ACF Spring Culinary Classic in Schenectady earlier this year, which took home a dozen medals.
Since learning of her entry into the competition, Cangialosi has entered into a training camp of sorts with Frank Costantino, the Dean of Monroe’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, who took the senior under his wing when she was still just a junior in high school.
Despite not competing in the regional competition, which is typically necessary for entrance into the national event, Cangialosi was selected by ACF President Thomas Macrina as a “wildcard” entrant, because he saw her potential.
Costantino praised Macrina for taking a chance on a culinary student from a smaller school. Other competitors will come from Florida, Illinois and Oregon. Kathryn Eurich, who won the Northeast regional competition, will also represent New York.
“We are so grateful that President Chef Macrina has taken notice of Rossella’s exemplary culinary skills and performance,” Costantino said. “Rossella has been an invaluable addition to our culinary team during these past for years, and more importantly, a model student.”
The Student Chef of the Year Competition calls on culinary students to prepare four portions of a finished entrée, utilizing an entire duck. Students are given an hour to imagine and prepare the meal, with 10 minutes to plate the portions. They will then be judged on their organization in the kitchen, overall skill, work habits, and execution of the dishes. It will be held over the weekend of Aug. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
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