The U of A Department of Poultry Science won first place in the allied division of the Poultry Federation's 28th annual All Member Cooking Competition during the 64th annual Poultry Festival in June.

The department's cooking team consisted of various faculty, staff and students, including Sarah Johnson, Savannah Wells-Crafton, Courtney Shumate, Maricela Maqueda, Mitchell Vaught and Mike Kidd. The team was led by Rodney Wolfe, team manager, and Blake Nelson, chief cook.

Nelson said the secret to success for this year's win was preparation.

"We held a practice cook before the competition, where we tested many spice and sauce competitions made by Sarah," Nelson said. "Savannah coordinated the plating design and produced decorations for the turn-in box. Rodney and several others ensured I had all the cooking tools. The preparation before the competition made the cooking easier."

Since the contest was in conjunction with the Poultry Festival, teams were required to prepare three plates for judging and samples for the public.

"I lit the BBQ pit at 6 a.m. and had the first batch of boneless, skinless chicken thighs on shortly after," Nelson said. "We cooked 60 pounds of chicken thighs to serve to the public, and the competition thighs were cooked alongside the public samples using a different method."

Competitors were assigned random turn-in times to submit their plates for judging, and the Department of Poultry Science turned in its submissions at 10:30 a.m.

"After we cooked all the thighs, we started the final cook, which consisted of 50 leg quarters to be served at the awards ceremony later that evening," Nelson said. "We concluded cooking at 3:30 p.m., so it was a long, hot day. However, it was a lot of fun as well."

Nelson and Wolfe were both proud of the team's hard work and resulting success.

"I am very proud of our team for winning this competition," Wolfe said. "We had an outstanding group of graduate students, led by Blake, that worked together to develop a championship caliber product, sauce and plating. This is our third win in four years."

David Caldwell, department head, said the recognition was a win for the entire department.

"We have a tremendous group of students that lead our competitive cooking team," Caldwell said. "Not only do they compete in the TPF Poultry Festival competition, but they also volunteer to cook for our departmental tailgates and similar industry stakeholder events throughout the year. It's very gratifying to see them get rewarded in this way. We all greatly appreciate their time and commitment to important departmental events."

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege