Students from Catholic Sangji University's Culinary Entrepreneurship and Cooking Department scored a clean sweep at the 23rd Food & Tableware Expo (the Seoul Food Olympic), a nationwide culinary competition.
According to Catholic Sangji University, the students competed at the aT Center in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and brought home eight golds, four silvers, three bronzes and the Small Enterprise and Market Service special award.
The Seoul Food Olympic is one of the country's top food competitions, drawing culinary college teams, professional chefs and foodservice professionals from across the nation. Entries are judged on menu creativity, cooking technique, plating and tableware composition.
Fifteen students from the department entered the contest, and every one of them placed. Gold medalists were Kim Seon-ok, Kim Kwang-yeon, Park Jang-jin, Kim Ho-bin, Park Ji-young, Yoon Mi-ra, Lee So-eul and Go Ji-seong. Silver went to Yoo Jeong-im, Oh Mi-kyung, Kim Hye-jin and Kim Young-kwang. Bronze medalists were Ryu Young-ho, Seok In-ja and Kim Hyang-ok. Park Ji-young's team also received the Small Enterprise and Market Service award.
The university said the competition offered more than trophies: it provided hands-on experience, strengthened teamwork and sharpened menu-planning skills. Students spent months researching menus and rehearsing their presentations to prepare.
President Cha Ho-cheol noted that students balanced coursework and practical training while passionately preparing for the contest, producing strong results. He added that the university will continue to cultivate competitive foodservice professionals through national competitions and hands-on education.
Meanwhile, the department has continued to rack up awards at national cooking contests and foodservice events. The university credited its focus on creative menu development, entrepreneurship-focused instruction and a practice-heavy curriculum with improving students' readiness for real-world settings.
