A team from Atlantic County bested the rest at this year's Wing Bash.
Seven teams competed in the fourth annual competition at Atlantic Cape Community College's Academy of Culinary Arts.
Each team had one hour to season, cook and/or fry their chicken wings with a uniquely-crafted wing sauce. Each team was scored by four judges, who based their final tallies on presentation, creativity, wing taste and sauce taste.
The winning team of Jasmine Gonzalez-Alegria, Kenneth Valente and Kaden Boyd Leonard created dulce Paraiso wings with cilantro lime crema.
“We wanted to take a little twist like doing a fruit glaze, and just have fresh flavors like Caribbean-type flavors with fresh fruits and bright flavors,” said Gonzalez-Alegria, of Egg Harbor Township.
Photos by Craig Matthews/Atlantic Cape Community College “My favorite part of the competition was the process of making the wings," said Valente, who lives in Atlantic City. "I feel like we all did the best we could and it paid off with our win.”
The trio got to present their winning dish at Saturday's Wing Fest at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City.
“I am really looking forward to the pressure of Wing Fest," said Boyd Leonard, of Egg Harbor Township. "I want to be a chef, so I am ready to work in the casino with big volume. I think it will be a lot of pressure, but I am sure we can get it done."
The second-place team — comprised of Bella Marchesani, Gabrielle Ruberti and Jeremy Stunda — created a honey hot garlic wing with cilantro-lime Ranch dressing.
The third-place team of Aidaeliz Ortiz, Keyonna Robinson and Nevaeh Thomas created a pineapple-habanero jerk wing with pineapple habanero sauce.
“The Academy of Culinary Arts Wing Wars competition is more than just a culinary showdown, it's a celebration of skill and creativity in the kitchen,” said Joseph Sheridan, director of the Academy of Culinary Arts and Hospitality. “The students do this for bragging rights and the honor to serve their recipe to more than 1,400 guests at Wing Fest. 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 ACA was originally invited to participate and represent Atlantic Cape at the annual Wing Fest in 2023. 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.
This year’s volunteer judges were Melissa Brault, head athletic trainer/assistant athletic director, Atlantic Cape; Chef David Fellenbaum and Bella Herold, manager, Spiaggetta Restaurant in Stone Harbor, N.J.; and alumnus David Rahn, adjunct chef educator, Atlantic Cape.
