STUDENT COOK-OFF
Breakers hosts Fresh From Florida challenge
PALM BEACH — Three teams of high school students chopped, sliced, sautéed, steamed and stirred Florida-grown fruits and vegetables in the regional round of the Fresh From Florida Student Chef Cook-Off at The Breakers on Tuesday.
After almost two hours of cooking before a panel of four judges in the elegant Ponce de Leon Ballroom, Sheldon Riley and James Weichmann, seniors at Westwood High in Fort Pierce, were declared the first-place winners. They prepared a recipe they created, raw kale pasta salad with a strawberry vinaigrette and chipotle chicken.
The pair will be heading to the finale in Tallahassee to complete against two other regional cook-off teams on Jan. 30, said Chef Paula Kendrick of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which sponsors the competition. About 70 entries were received from around the state.
The competition’s format was similar to that on Food Network shows such as “Chopped” and “Food Network Star.” The teams presented their dishes to the judges, who then took a few bites of each entree before scoring and critiquing them. The criteria were taste, appearance, creativity, best and most use of local ingredients, school food service appropriateness and execution.
In addition to having their meal served in school cafeterias, students on the winning team will receive a $1,000 Florida 529 Savings Plan and a day in the kitchen with celebrity Chef Art Smith. Smith, who owns four restaurants and has authored three cookbooks, is now based in Jasper in North Florida where he runs a cooking school.
“We wanted to cook great kale,” Riley said. “Most kids don’t like it, but it is good for digestion. I wanted to make it more edible. We did a lot of research on this.
“There are a lot of kids in the culinary program who are passionate like me and James,” said Riley, who said he and his teammate aspire to be high-level chefs.
Florida-grown ingredients in the pasta salad included kale, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, bell peppers and chipotle peppers.
Paula Triana, one of the judges and wellness promotion manager at the Palm Beach County School District, said she liked the kick in the winning dish, and thought it was something high school students would like as well.
Roberta Sabban, food editor of the Palm Beach Daily News, asked the team what inspired them to remove the seeds from the cucumbers. Riley said he watched a lot of You Tube videos and saw them prepared that way.
“I might wilt the kale a little bit more so it has a more smooth texture,” Sabban said.
Placing second with their grain bowl with grapefruit yogurt sauce were Taylor Sanders, Odalys Nieves and Makayla Heath of Golden Gate High School in Naples. Third place went to Stuart-based Martin County High School students Kayla Thuman and Brianna Butler-Brown who prepared a stuffed bell pepper with fruit and a green salad.
The chefs who run the culinary arts programs at the schools say that interest in food and cooking has surged in the last few years, and part of that is due to Food
Network shows.
Aiuton Moreira, chef at Westwood where 160 students are in the program, said the TV shows have glamorized being a chef but don’t show every aspect such as cleaning up the kitchen or mention the high cost of culinary school after high school.
“It’s not reality. Most places hire you as a chef, but they pay you $10 to $12 an hour,” Moreira said. “You have a $600 a month loan with 8 to 12 percent interest a year for 30 years. You barely make enough to survive.”
Chef Shawn Southwick of Martin County High where 300 students study culinary arts said, “The numbers have gotten bigger every year. The Food Network has been part of it. It has helped the popularity of the industry and glamorized the profession.”
Chef Maria Crisanti, who heads the 220-student program at Golden Gate High, said the students learn not only techniques, but about sanitation and nutrition. About 90 percent of the juniors and seniors work part-time in Naples’ country clubs and restaurants.
“Nutritional chefs are up and coming. People are looking for chefs who can cook nutritional and healthy meals,” Crisanti said.
The competition in its fourth year is sponsored by the state Agriculture Department, which administers the National School Lunch Program, a federally funded program that assists schools and other agencies in providing nutritious meals to children.
The department’s Farm to School program connects schools with local farms, said Beth Spratt, an agricultural relations specialist. Since 2015 the program has helped to get more than 900,000 pounds of Florida products into schools.