Academy of Culinary Arts Students Create Tasty Recipes at the 2nd Annual Wing Wars Competition

MAYS LANDING — Nine students from Atlantic Cape Community College’s Academy of Culinary Arts (ACA) program participated in the 2nd Annual Wing Wars competition on January 26 at the Mays Landing campus for the privilege of having their winning recipe represent the ACA at the upcoming Annual Atlantic City Wing Fest at Golden Nugget Atlantic City Hotel and Casino on Saturday, February 3.

Three teams consisting of three students apiece had one hour to season, cook and/or fry their chicken wings while devising a delectable wing sauce of their liking. In a dash to the finish line, each team rallied and utilized every last available second to plate, garnish and present their respective dishes to the three judges, who based their scores on presentation, creativity, wing taste and sauce taste.

“The Academy of Culinary Arts Wing Bash is more than just a culinary showdown, it's a celebration of skill and creativity in the kitchen. Students engage in competition for bragging rights and the right to serve their recipe to over 1,000 guests at Wing Fest,” said Joseph Sheridan, Director of the Academy of Culinary Arts and Hospitality. “As the students hone their culinary skills, they also learn to work as part of a team, and fosters community spirit between student chefs who share ideas, techniques and a common love for the craft of cooking.”

The Team 3 winning trio, which consisted of William Fence of Manahawkin, Gelasia Nurse of Galloway and Julio Gomez of Vineland, made Korean Barbecue Wings with Kimchi Ranch sauce. Finishing a close second was the Team 2 trio of Grace Carpenter, Isabella Burke and Saudly Delphin, who made Jerk Chicken Wings with a Tamarind Chutney sauce. The Team 1 third place trio consisted of Amy Jimenez, Anthony Spero and Danna Jimenez, who created Thai Peanut Butter Wings with an Orange Marmalade Jelly.

The ACA was originally invited to participate and represent Atlantic Cape at the annual Wing Fest last year. The culinary instructors decided to create a fun and competitive competition between the ACA’s culinary students to come up with the best wing sauce to represent the ACA and the college. Once at Wing Fest, the winning team must cook wings and make sauce for more than 1,200 attendees.

Three local judges lent their time and culinary expertise for the ACA Wings War competition. ACA 2018 alum Gavin Tarves, who is currently a training and development chef for the Guy Fieri Restaurant Group, led the opening of Fieri’s Atlantic City restaurant prior to being hired to serve on the corporate side of the celebrity chef’s enterprise. ACA 2022 alum Noah Johnson is currently an assistant restaurant chef at Jade Street in Harrah’s Atlantic City while Pork Island BBQ Owner/PitMaster Jim House rounded out the trio of judges.

“All of you did a great job. Each wing was very good. Everyone had bright spots, none of you were that far off from each other and you should definitely hold your hat high for that,” said Johnson.

The Atlantic City Wing Fest will pit 21 South Jersey eateries that are well-known for delicious wings against each other for the bragging rights to say that they have the best wings in South Jersey.

Visit our Flickr page to view photos from this year’s ACA Wing Wars competition.

Visit atlanticcape.edu/aca for more information on the Academy of Culinary Arts program.

About Atlantic Cape Community College

Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States accredited, 2022 Achieving the Dream Leader College and Hispanic Serving Institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers 47 undergraduate degree programs, and 33 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and for more than 50 years, our highly-acclaimed Nursing program. Atlantic Cape also partners with several four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree without having to leave home.