PACES Dining Services Prepares to Feed FISU Athletes for World University Games

PACES Dining Services Cooks Up Recipes for Athletes Village at SUNY Potsdam for Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games

Potsdam, NY (12/22/2022) — When collegiate athletes from around the world participate in the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games from Jan. 12 to 22, they will be eating food made from recipes conceived and developed by PACES Dining Services staff at SUNY Potsdam. The College is set to host the Athletes Village for the World University Games, welcoming 488 ice hockey players, as well as coaches and support staff.

Staged every two years in a different city, the FISU World University Games is a celebration of international university sports and culture. The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games, an 11-day competition and educational festival, will feature 1,443 collegiate-athletes, ages 17 to 25, from more than 595 universities across 44 countries. The competition consists of 12 winter sports contested throughout Northern New York, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Wilmington, North Creek, Canton and Potsdam.

PACES started developing and creating menus in January 2022. Guidelines were outlined regarding required food options and nutritional standards. PACES Kitchen Managers Amy Hazen and Nate Shene collaborated and created more than 250 recipes.

"The challenge was sourcing obtainable ingredients while creating nutritional and diverse menus with an international flair," said Shene. "We wanted to represent as many cuisines as possible. It was a long and involved process: We taste-tested every item and got feedback. We tweaked and reinvented, and were very pleased with the end results."

Athletes can expect dishes representing cuisines from Italy, Brazil, Japan, the Americas and Korea, as well as traditional European dishes.

"One of my favorite international menus is Korean beef bulgogi, sauteed bell peppers, carryout noodles and jasmine rice. Bulgogi consists of trimmed and sliced eye of round, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, gochujang, bell peppers, Spanish onion, green onion, salt and pepper. It is basically beef strips braised in sweet/spicy gochujang sauce," said Shene.

Terri White, the PACES dining service director, was pleased when her staff's recipes were chosen as the FISU standard menu.

"It is important that the athletes receive the same nutrition and ingredient profile, so every location must use the same recipe. To have PACES be the source of those recipes makes us all very proud," White said.

SUNY Potsdam will also host the games' ice hockey contests in the Maxcy Hall Ice Arena, along with Clarkson University's Cheel Arena, SUNY Canton's Roos House and the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. Tickets are now on sale for the hockey games and all other events. All games will stream live online at fisu.tv, with the finals being broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+.

About the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games:

The FISU World University Games is the largest winter multi-sport collegiate athletic event in the world. Collegiate-athletes, between the ages of 17 and 25, are eligible to enter. In 2018, Lake Placid was selected to host the 2023 FISU World University Games. New York State is proud to be hosting these Games and looks forward to showcasing New York and the North Country to an international audience. To learn more, visit lakeplacid2023.com.

About PACES Dining Services:

Potsdam Auxiliary and College Educational Services Inc. (PACES) is a not-for-profit corporation operating under contract with SUNY Potsdam. PACES' mission is to offer high-quality products and services, while maximizing customer value and financial return, to the benefit of the larger SUNY Potsdam community. PACES Dining Services is rated the No. 1 dining service for comprehensive colleges in the SUNY system in the Student Opinion Survey. For more information, visit www.potsdam.edu/offices/paces.