By Karl Hays, Co-Managing Editor & George Gallardo, Staff Reporter
It was raining with a chance of meatballs at Loker Student Union on Nov. 7, during round two of the “Battle of the Chefs.” The friendly competition pits CSUDH chefs against those from other universities to showcase their creativity, culinary prowess, and promote student and faculty engagement.
The match-up hosted by Urban Mosaic Food Co, the university’s on-campus dining provider, featured Toros chef manager Juan Villanueva against executive chef Alvarado Dickson of Hawaii Pacific University. A four-judge panel consisting of Vice President Deborah Wallace, ASI President Edgar Mejia, professor Cheyenne Cummins and professor Thomas Norman voted on who cooked up the best meatball.
Villanueva stumbled into the culinary arts. He started his career as an auto mechanic before landing a job as a dishwasher at an Olive Garden restaurant, where he worked his way up to line cook. Villanueva told The Bulletin the experience helped him to discover his “love for the industry.”
Dickson, meanwhile, started from a young age where his cooking roots date back to his work in Puerto Rico. He found his love for cooking, but not knowing how to achieve his goal, he joined the military to travel the world to hone his skill. While in the military, he attended Johnson and Wales University of fine culinary art which would lead to more “doors opening and career taking off”.
Toros talk turkey, teriyaki
Villanueva’s offering was called the “Friendsgiving” – a turkey meatball mixed with stuffing, served with a creamy cranberry sauce over mashed potatoes.
“The same croutons I use to make the stuffing, I put that on top to give you that extra little crunch,” Villanueva told The Bulletin. The holiday-themed dish was a hit with Toros like third-year art student Jalen Stovall, who said he liked the combination of the cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes.
“I liked that it had a cranberry sauce on it with cranberries in the mashed potatoes,” said Stovall. “Liked the sweetness to it.”
Alvarado presented stiff competition. Drawing inspiration from his kitchen in Honolulu, his dish was a pineapple-teriyaki meatball slider.
“Put it between two [Kings Hawaiian] rolls, with a crunchy garlic aioli,” Alvarado told attendees. “It’s a smash burger – don’t be afraid to squish it and bite right into it.”
The slider was a hit with Toros like Maria Anguiano, a graduate social work student, who described it as “very flavorful and something different.”
Chef Dickson’s dish also received the nod from first-year chemistry student Kevin Sosa, who told The Bulletin his decision came down to one thing: the sauce.
“The sauce, I like the sauce,” Sosa said. “I’ll say the meatball didn’t have as great a taste as the [‘Friendsgiving’], but the sauce was pretty good.”
Despite the rave reviews, CSUDH Urban Mosaic Food Co. announced chef Villanueva as the winner on Nov. 8. He’ll compete in round three of the competition with a date and opponent to be announced at a later date.
Villanueva walked away with the duke, but hungry Toros may have been the real winners of the event.
“I think it was really awesome. I was just coming out of class, and it was a really great time to just pick up some snacks and get back to class,” Anguiano said. “I think the school should do this more often.”
