UK Catering Services Brings Home the Gold

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 15, 2010) -- University of Kentucky Catering Services, a part of the Division of Student Affairs Dining Services, has won a 2010 Loyal E. Horton Dining Award, presented by the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). UK won the gold award in the catering-special event category for large universities.

Named for the founder and past president of NACUFS, the award was established by the association to honor outstanding effort in college and university food service.

Organizers said an impressive number of high-quality and innovative entries were received, making for an extremely competitive contest judged by a team of seven judges led by Sharon Coulon, University of California – Davis, with John Johnson, Millersville University; Jill Irvin, Purdue University; Kayleigh Glaspie, University of Northern Colorado; Merrill Collins, Connecticut College; Paul Muscente, Cornell University; and Meredith Statler, The Lovett School. In addition to honoring those colleges and universities that have gone above and beyond in residential food service retail food service and catering, the competition fosters the exchange of ideas among NACUFS member institutions.

To determine the Horton Award winner, submissions are awarded points in areas such as menu selection, marketing, overall impression and more. To make sure that winners are of the highest quality, an entry must receive at least 90 percent of the available points to earn the gold award. Similarly, silver award winners must receive at least 80 percent of the available points, and the bronze award requires at least 70 percent.

While UK won the Catering-Special Event category, Virginia Tech won silver and the University of Georgia won bronze.