Posted by The Staten Island Advance, NY on June 05, 2008 at 12:12:29:
Staten Island Advance
Island teens split $250,000 in scholarship money
All eight high school students were honored with cash awards in citywide culinary competition
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
By DIANE C. LORE
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two simple recipes, one for a chicken and potatoes entrée and another -- a dessert recipe for chocolate-covered crepes -- turned out to be worth close to $250,000. And, it was all split among eight Staten Island teens.
The aspiring future-chefs are enrolled in three of the borough's public high schools, swept away with close to $250,000 in scholarship money -- including a Tottenville High School senior who won a full-tuition scholarship to Johnson & Wales University -- awarded through the nationwide Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP).
Scholarship winners were announced during an awards ceremony in the elegant Pierre Hotel, Manhattan, where the teen chefs were honored for their performances in the competition's citywide finals. ALL ARE WINNERS
The hands-on cooking competition itself took place last month at the Institute for Culinary Education (formerly Peter Kump's New York Cooking School), Manhattan, and was judged by a panel of New York City restaurant chefs. All eight of Staten Island's high school students who participated in the culinary contest came up winners.
Three Tottenville students earned more than $110,000 in scholarship money, including a full-tuition scholarship, while three Port Richmond High School undergraduates snagged more than $50,000, and two New Dorp High School students took home another $50,000 in scholarships presented during the recent awards breakfast.
Tottenville senior Kristen O'Loughlin was the big winner. She came away with a full-tuition scholarship for $80,000 to Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R,I. Her classmate, Nick DiMarco, won a half-tuition culinary arts scholarship, valued at $21,500, to the New England Culinary Institute, while another senior, Pasquale Ferraioli won the $2,500 Tim Zagat Scholarship.
Port Richmond senior Santo Saitta was awarded the Russell Ferber Memorial Full-Tution Baking and Pastry Scholarship, valued at $42,700. Classmates David Caban and Spyro Kalogrides each won C-CAP scholarships for $5,000.
New Dorp's big winner was senior Damaris Arocho, who won a $38,500 full-tuition scholarship to the French Culinary Institute, Manhattan. Classmate Noren Gregory won the $12,000 Natalie Toedter Scholarship. 18TH ANNUAL CONTEST
All 29 finalists, representing New York City high schools, impressed the leading chefs during the 18th annual cooking competition, by preparing from memory, within a two-hour time limit, a two-course French menu consisting of Pulet Chasseur avec Pommes de Terre Chateau (Hunter's Chicken with Turned, Sauteed Potatoes, and Crepe Sucress with Creme Patissiere and Sauce au Chocolate (Dessert Crepes with Pastry Cream and Chocolate Sauce).
At the conclusion of the competition, each student presented two plates of each dish to the judging panel which included Lynn Crawford, executive chef at The Four Seasons, and a recent Iron Chef America competitor, who lost in a match with Bobby Flay; Alison Awerbuch, Pier Sixty; Floyd Cardoz, Tabla restaurant; Philip DeMaiolo, Pier Sixty; C-CAP graduate Angel Hidalgo, of BLT Prime; Matt Hoyle, Nobu57; C-CAP grad Rachel Lansang-Hildalgo, Aureole restaurant; Ted Siegel, The Institute for Culinary Edication; Johan Svensson, Aquavit, and Uwe Toedter, New York Hilton and Towers.
The teens were considered for a range of scholarships, with a value ranging from $500 to $80,000, to some of the most prestigious culinary schools in the country, including the nationally recognized Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Wales University, The Art Institutes, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, and Monroe College, as well as the French Culinary Institute, the Institute for Culinary Education, New York City College of Technology and Sullivan Community College.
Students also had the opportunity to receive cash awards to help defray the cost of books, supplies, housing and other expenses, In addition, C-CAP sponsors an annual one-day college seminar titled "College 101: Intro to Campus Life."
The students are chosen to compete based on their academic records, a handwritten essay and their interest in continued education in the culinary field. PROUD TEACHERS
Tottenville culinary arts teacher Vincent Corigliano said his students "worked very hard practicing the recipes and making sure they were ready for the competition."
James Ryan, culinary arts teacher at Port Richmond, said C-CAP "brings out the best" in his students. "You hear 'cooking class' and you think it's easy, but these students all work very hard at what they do," he said.
Pamela Bartels said her students at New Dorp are so dedicated that they stay after school and some come in on Saturdays to work on recipe preparation and cooking techniques.
Over the past decade the C-CAP program has awarded more than $10 million in culinary scholarships to high school students nationwide.
"The program has grown tremendously in the past 18 years," said C-CAP founder and president Richard Grausman, in commending the students for their efforts. "And, I've noticed a dramatic change in the quality and focus of the work from the Staten Island students."
Grausman, a James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year award-winner, launched the culinary program in 1990 as a pilot program in 12 New York City schools to motivate students toward careers in food service. Since then, it has been expanded to train both high school students and teachers in the culinary arts in six regions across the country.
The New York program serves more than 2,100 students and 42 teachers in 32 schools. With Grausman's cookbook, "At Home With the French Classics," as curriculum guide, students learn the fundamentals of French cooking, kitchen sanitation, culinary terminology and food service work ethics. The Culinary Scholarships Competition is the culmination of the year-long program.