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Cal Poly’s Executive Chef Darrell Janes has won first place in this year’s Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service CAN DO Challenge with a dessert that will soon be served to students. The award recognizes a campus-dining creation — a Baked Caramelized Pear French Toast Casserole — that blends sustainability-minded cooking with a familiar comfort-food format.
The CAN DO Challenge, an annual national contest for non-commercial foodservice professionals, spotlights inventive uses of Pacific Northwest canned pears. Submissions opened in January and closed in May; organizers named finalists in June and revealed the top three winners in August after evaluation across several criteria.
How the dish stood out
Judges evaluated entries on three main factors: plate appeal, flavor appeal and creative use of the ingredient. Janes’ casserole impressed the panel with its balance of caramelized pear flavor and the nostalgic profile of French toast transformed into a shareable baked dish.
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Janes, competing in the challenge for the first time, said he was surprised by the win given the high quality of previous entries. Campus dining deadlines and heavy daily workloads usually leave little room for chefs to enter such competitions, he noted, making the victory notable for a non-commercial kitchen.
From concept to campus plate
At Cal Poly, Janes chose a zero waste approach — a practice increasingly common in institutional foodservice. He developed the recipe to use both the pears and their syrup, extracting maximum flavor while minimizing waste. The idea began as an effort to lift a classic bread pudding into something more refined and convenient for a brunch setting.
He tested several iterations and adjusted the recipe after sampling feedback. Campus marketing assisted by producing professional photos of the plated dish, which were included with the submission that ultimately won the top award.
- Timeline: Submissions Jan–May; finalists announced in June; winners revealed in August.
- Judging criteria: Plate appeal, flavor appeal, creative use of canned pears.
- Notable techniques: Caramelization of pears, use of pear syrup, adaptation of bread pudding into a French toast casserole.
Cal Poly dining will introduce the winning casserole to students at a special brunch. Vista Grande is hosting a “Love, Campus Dining” event on Nov. 3 where the dish will be available for sampling, giving the campus community first access to the award-winning item.
Beyond a new menu offering, the win highlights how institutional kitchens are using culinary competitions to showcase sustainability practices and culinary creativity under operational constraints. For students, it means a chance to taste a dish that proved competitive on a national stage; for campus dining teams, it validates approaches that reduce waste while delivering on flavor.
