The first ever 575 Food Fight was held on Feb. 26 at the 100 West Café inside Gerald Thomas Hall. The competition, organized by the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, welcomed four chefs who competed for the two spots in the championship competition later in March. It is based on the 505 Food Fight competition that originated in Albuquerque.
The four contestants were Daniela Tuda, Illyana Varela, and Mario Beltran from Doña Ana Community College, and Andres Flores from El Paso Community College. They were tasked with creating two dishes in one hour, using three secret ingredients for the first dish and two for the other.
The secret ingredients consisted of tofu, pineapple, and white chocolate. The chefs were given ten minutes prior to the start of the timer to brainstorm what dishes they would create with the peculiar assortment of ingredients.
Colleen Caldwell, a culinary student from DACC, came out to show her support for the competitors and talked about what she was excited to see from the chefs.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how clever they’re going to be with these three unusual ingredients,” she said.
A few examples of the dishes they cooked were jalapeño tofu tacos, pineapple topped chicken with glazed carrots, and tofu ratatouille.
NMSU students Jonathan Uvalle and Ryan Mixon assisted the chefs in the competition and discussed both the culinary arts community at NMSU and the competition itself.
“What it’s introducing is a new experience where culinary fans are able to… show off their skills,” Uvalle said.
Not only were the students excited to see the competitors cook creative dishes, but they also enjoyed watching the competition so closely.
“Smelling what people are about to taste is amazing,” Mixon said.
At the end of the competition, Flores and Varela finished on top, and will go on to compete in the 575 Food Fights Finale on March 16. The other two slots in the finale will be filled by the winners of the competition on March 4.
Flores described what the culinary arts means to him and his experience being in the 575 Food Fight kitchen.
“I’m just so grateful that I had the opportunity,” Flores said. “I think the main inspiration for my love of the culinary arts in general is my grandmother. She has always believed in me.”
