Grace Arnold’s Award-Winning Blue Ribbon Biscuits Debut at Stony Brook University

Grace Arnold '29 brought warm, flaky, award-winning biscuits straight to the heart of Stony Brook University through Cooking from Home, an SBU Eats program that celebrates the flavors and stories behind meaningful family recipes. Designed to connect the campus community with the tastes of home, the program pairs students with campus chefs to bring cherished dishes to life. For Arnold, whose passion for baking began on her family's dairy farm in upstate New York, the project was more than just a recipe, it was a way to share a piece of her heritage and the heart of her family's kitchen with her peers.

This month's featured recipe came to life through a special collaboration between Arnold and Regional Executive Chef Kevin Kenny. Her warm biscuits, served fresh from the oven alongside split pea soup at East Side Dining, reflect a love of baking nurtured since childhood.

"Grace reminded me that food is a bridge between generations and communities. Working with her was a joy, and her biscuits were a beautiful example of how heritage and passion can come together to create something truly special," stated Kenny.

Arnold became involved in Cooking from Home after a conversation with campus dietitian Laura Martorano about her passion for bread-making. Inspired by her mother, an exceptional baker, and her father, a talented cook, Arnold views food as more than nourishment, it's a way to bring people together and create lasting memories. Her family heritage reflects a rich blend of European cultures, including Dutch, Irish, German and Scottish.

"I like the time it takes to make something good; I like the challenge of learning how to make something new and I love when my cooking makes people happy because in the end that's all that matters," stated Arnold.

At seven years old, Arnold joined the 4-H Club, an educational youth program that builds skills through hands-on projects in science, health and agriculture while fostering leadership and community involvement under the guidance of adult mentors. Just a year later, she was already showing cattle at fairs, a natural extension of life on her family's dairy farm. Many of her 4-H projects centered around baking. Some years she entered cookies or preserved goods, but it was the year she baked her signature biscuits that earned her a coveted blue ribbon at the New York State Fair. Today, she continues to experiment in the kitchen, especially baking cookies in flavors like chocolate chip, pumpkin spice, molasses and oatmeal. That blue-ribbon memory ultimately inspired her to share her biscuits with the Cooking from Home program, bringing a taste of home to the campus community.

"In 4-H, I loved giving presentations where I could teach a skill to the judges. One year it was paper flower making, the next it was how to make donuts, and another year I focused on solving plastic pollution using plastic-eating bacteria. I've always been a curious person and I honestly never smile more than when I'm learning," explained Arnold.

As a first-year marine science major at Stony Brook University, Arnold channels her deep passion for the ocean into exploring its many mysteries. She hopes to pursue a career in research, exploring topics such as sharks, the ocean's chemical composition and its impact on the global environment. In addition to her focus on marine science, Arnold is also interested in bioengineering, reflecting her curiosity about how science and innovation can shape the future.

Grace Arnold's journey from her family's dairy farm to the Stony Brook University campus shows how tradition, curiosity and community can come together and provide something meaningful to others. Through Cooking from Home, she has shared more than award-winning biscuits; she has shared a piece of her heritage and the joy of connection. For Arnold, cooking is both a craft and a way to bring people together, a value she carries into her studies, her work and her future.