It was a battle between a duo of undergraduates and a team of a master’s degree student and an Ed.D. candidate. They fought with parring knives, spoons, skillets, and a variety of food ingredients.

Photo provided by Delaware State University

The undergraduates won.

The battleground was the Conrad Hall dining hall where the first-ever Sodexo Magic Cooking Competition took place, organized by a DSU undergraduate student in partnership with Sodexo Magic, the University’s current food provider.

The April 6 competition was between the undergraduate duo of Crystal Lacy, a senior computer science major from Accokeek, Md., and Langston Staton, a sophomore mass communication major from Waldorf, Md., against Monet Williams, a graduate student in justice studies from Atlantic City, N.J., and Delonte Neal, an Ed.D. candidate from Washington, D.C.

The Cooking Competition was hosted by Chef. G. Garvin, a celebrity chef best known for his Food Network television series “Roadtrip with G. Garvin.”

The teams has one hour to take a basket full of mystery ingredients to come up with a cooked dish that would please a panel of judges – Dr. June Clarke, Director of the University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Program, SGA President Semaj Hazzard, and Chef Laval Sanks of Sodexo Magic.

While Ms. Williams and Mr. Neal prepared a dish they called “Mystery Cuisine,” the undergraduate team of Ms. Lacy and Mr. Staton made a better impression on the judges to win with their chicken presentation of an “Indian Curry All or Nothing” dish.

The winning duo each received $100 and some culinary cooking items. The runner-ups also receive culinary items.

The Cooking Competition was the brainchild of Zion Weeks, a sophomore mass communications/digital media arts major, who wanted to gain some experience organizing events.

“My goal is to be a creative director,” Mr. Weeks said. “To be able to take something on paper and make it a reality.”

Because there was no specific course in that area, Mr. Weeks got permission to make it an independent study course.

Sodexo officials said they are looking forward to hosting the competition again next year.