UB Chefs to Serve Rachael Ray 'Magic Moment' Meal to Students

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- When celebrity chef Rachael Ray chose the University at Buffalo as the backdrop for a celebratory meal in her wildly popular magazine, the chefs and managers of university food service knew just how to handle it:

They got ready to cook.

At 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, UB Campus Dining will serve about 30 members of the Student Advisory Board and selected staff that celebratory meal featured in "Everyday With Rachael Ray," Ray's monthly magazine. The food feature, titled "This Magic Moment," recommended four full-course menus to mark celebratory occasions. One of the occasions, "Your Teen Is College-bound," featured UB-logoed paraphernalia as prominent elements of the photographic setting, including a letter of acceptance from UB's Office of Admissions and a blue UB pennant.

The double-page magazine spread and accompanying recipes are available in the May issue, or by going online at http://www.rachaelraymag-digital.com/rachaelraymag/201005#pg113.

When Raymond Kohl, marketing director of UB Campus Dining and Shops, heard about it he contacted Nicholas Cee, executive chef of Three Pillars Catering at UB, and set in motion the appropriate way to show the university's appreciation to the celebrity cook and her magazine, which has a circulation of 1.8 million.

"We are planning on serving this menu as a special luncheon for our Student Advisory Board in the Tiffin Room, the dining room in the Student Union," says Kohl.

"Most people are surprised when we tell them Chef Cee from Campus Dining & Shops at UB trained at the Culinary Institute of America," says Kohl. "He's one of the best. Whether it's in a dining center or catering a special event, we pride ourselves on preparing creative dishes with the freshest ingredients. In fact, our catering operation, Three Pillars Catering, serves fine gourmet food like this at weddings and other special events at the Jacobs Executive Development Center on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo all year round.

"Rachael Ray's meal gave us a chance to show our stuff."

The special lunch -- to be served as students enter exam week -- will include all the culinary bells and whistles of Rachael Ray's article. The three elements of her celebratory meal ("Getting that special notice in the mail calls for grown-up dishes, served family style," the article states) are:

-- Herbed crouton salad

-- Tomato-braised lamb shanks with orange and mint

-- Pistachio crème brûlée

Besides the students on the advisory board, the meal will be served to a few selected UB staff members and special guests.

Media arrangements: Charles Anzalone in the UB Office of Communications at 645-4600 and 440-8824.