Posted by Kansas City Infozine on May 06, 2009 at 12:33:21:
Missouri Culinary Team Wins National Competition
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 :: Staff infoZine
A team of students from the Independence, Raytown and Lee’s Summit school districts who attend Raytown’s Herndon Career Center recently captured top honors in a prestigious culinary contest sponsored by the National Restaurant Association. Their skills and creativity will be featured this fall on a Food Network TV show.
Jefferson City, MO - infoZine - More than 300 students from 39 states and territories participated in the eighth annual National ProStart® Invitational held April 24-26 in San Diego. The event showcases the talents of top ProStart students as they compete in national culinary and management competitions.
Missouri’s winning team included: Kailey Ferguson, William Chrisman High School, and Andrea Svaglic, Truman High School, both in the Independence School District; Mark Leary and Thomas DeMarco, Lee’s Summit North High School; Zac Ray, Lee’s Summit High School; and Katie Dingman, Raytown High School.
Ben Griswold, a former corporate chef who stepped out of the industry to become a teacher in 2004, is the culinary arts instructor at Herndon Career Center, which is operated by the Raytown School District. Griswold uses the ProStart high school curriculum, developed by the National Restaurant Association, with 40 students from three different school districts.
In the national contest, teams had to prepare a three-course meal in 60 minutes. Their performance during the practical session is observed and rated by judges from leading colleges and universities. The competition, filmed for the Food Network, featured 37 individual state champions or teams. The program, “Top of the Class,” will air this fall.
The winning entry featured molecular cooking, a style that reduces food to its molecular level to enhance flavor and transform texture. The Herndon team used this method to complement Hamachi Crudo, an Italian version of Japanese sashimi, served with golden trout caviar and fresh pea shoots. The molecular cooking process transformed an orange with a carbonation charge into a fizzy fusion of citrus and fish flavors.
Here is the winning menu:
Appetizer: Hamachi Crudo featuring hamachi, yuzu, oranges, fennel salad, and golden trout roe
Entrée: Pink Snapper accompanied by fingerling potatoes, sunchoke puree, asparagus, ramps, and saffron foam
Dessert: Panna Cotta Moscato with raspberry fruit gelee, honey wafer, mango caviar, and chocolate soda
The Herndon team represented Missouri at the national competition by out-cooking 23 other teams at the state-level ProStart competition held last February in Springfield. Industry professionals and culinary educators judged the teams on knife skills, menu, teamwork, sanitation, presentation and taste. A Herndon team has taken first place in three of the past four state competitions.
First- through fifth-place winning teams from each of the two national ProStart Invitational events (culinary and management) are awarded medals and scholarships to pursue careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry.
FOLLOW UP POSTS ARE NOT PERMITTED - DO NOT COMPLETE & SUBMIT FORM