Two members of FSA Dining Services at the State University of New York at Fredonia combined with food service representatives from other universities to win a bronze medal in American Culinary Federation-sanctioned team competition at the 2014 Tastes of the World Chef Culinary Conference, held recently at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Jason Domenico, Dining Services supervisor, and Dean Messina, assistant director of Dining Services, teamed up with Vern Impey, of SUNY Potsdam, and Matt Conley, Salisbury University, to earn 30.475 points – just 1.525 points shy of a silver medal.

“Food Matters: Embracing Health, Sustainability and Education for the Future” was the theme of this year’s conference. Following general sessions that began each day, attendees listened to industry presentations, observed demonstrations by leading chefs such as John Ash, Mark Miller and Mia Pham, and engaged in hands-on workshop demonstrations with presentation chefs from Johnson & Wales University and the Culinary Institute of America.

Best-selling author and journalist Michael Pollan, who wrote “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” delivered the keynote address.

Domenico and Messina plan to implement some of the new recipes and ideas they learned into FSA Dining Service areas and also work on the long-term goal of becoming more sustainable and increasing the use of local products. The annual conference serves as a premier gathering for high-volume food service operators and campus chefs.