Graduate Studies Dean Mike Plyley and Dining Services Chef Jim Harper serve up Dutch potato soup at the Souper Star Lunch Tuesday. Hungry philanthropists chose it as their favourite soup of the day.

Brock’s United Way campaign kickoff was a souped up affair Tuesday.

Seven deans showed off their ladling skills as they served up cups of soup to hungry philanthropists during the United Way Souper Star Lunch.

Though the sold-out event brought in $9,000 for the charity, it was also a clash of the culinary titans as each dean, with the help of a Brock Dining Services chef, attempted to woo and wow the crowd with their creamy and brothy concoctions.

Soup eaters were given a ballot to vote for their favourite spoonfuls. In the end, potatoes proved all-powerful with Graduate Studies Dean Mike Plyley’s Dutch potato creation winning the soup smackdown. It edged out Humanities Dean Douglas Kneale’s Yukon Gold Chowder by two votes.

Plyley said it was rewarding to be in the presence of soup giants Kneale, who took the title two years ago, and Neil McCartney, Dean of Applied Health Sciences, who won the competition last year.

So what was Plyley’s secret?

“As this is my third try and first win, I’m still not sure of the secret ingredient,” he said. “This year, it was show up at the last minute, and be assigned to the soup that most folks seemed to enjoy. So, the real answer is to choose your chef carefully. Congratulations to Market Chef Jim Harper for making the Dutch potato soup for this year’s United Way Souper Star Lunch.”

Given the event’s popularity, plans are already in the works to expand it next year, said Diana Panter, staff co-chair for the campaign.

The next campaign event is the Halloween Fun Run on Oct. 31, followed by Trivia Night on Nov. 15.

Panter said the campaign committee is seeking additional prizes for trivia night. For more information about the type of prizes needed or to donate one, email Panter at dpanter@brocku.ca.