Contestants Chop and Get Chopped! At Lesley University

Submitted by Ed Fogarty, General Manager

The community of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, is a competitive one. For the campus’s second Chopped! competition, contestants had to create a meal in only 30 minutes from a basket of surprise ingredients — with a sustainable twist: they were mostly local.

The basket included local Statler chicken breast, cage-free eggs, Vermont goat cheese, wheatberries, maple syrup and honey, and fresh herbs from the Lesley herb garden.

In this photo (left to right), contestants Anhar Mulla (online tutoring manager), freshman Nathan Coney, Richard Pike (Bon Appétit cook), Patsey Hamel (executive assistant to the dean of the graduate school), and Cristin Ashmankas (professor of natural sciences) rush to put together judge pleasing dishes. In the end, Richard triumphed for his plate presentation, flavor and use of ingredients.