Cooking up some fun
Students in Hart district compete in first culinary cooking competition
Culinary students from eight schools within the William S. Hart Union High School District battled to be named the winner of the inaugural Hart District Culinary Arts Pathway Throwdown.
The school teams, composed of four students each, came from Valencia, West Ranch, Canyon, Hart, Golden Valley, Bowman and Sequoia high schools. Two teams were from Golden Valley, and only one student each from Bowman and Sequoia joined another school’s team.
One of the Golden Valley teams took home the top prize for its pan-seared cod fish dish.
“There was so many different small things,” said Golden Valley student Tanja Koerder, one of the members of the winning team. “We had to find the almonds, the right amount of salt and pepper, the right amount of olive oil.
“Everything had to be right,” she said.
All teams planned a unique menu with their culinary teachers and did
initial prep work before the event. A panel of judges chose the winner based on the tastiest, most well-prepared and beautified dish.
“We are so excited to taste the wares of the culinary students who are on their way to becoming successful chefs for other career professions in the hospital industry,” said Sue Reynolds, career development coordinator for the William S. Hart District, prior to the competition.
Chef Mike McClintock, who led the competition, is “upping the game” of the Culinary Pathways program in the district, Reynolds said.
“Mike worked very hard to bring culinary
instructors together to provide professional experiences,” she added.
The College of the Canyons culinary program, iCUE, supported the competition as well.
These students are part of the Career and College Readiness program in addition to the Culinary Arts Pathway capstone course.
“It gives them real-world experience for cooking for clients,” she said, stating they needed to cook quickly and accurately in a real world situation.
The winners received a plaque and gift certificates to Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewing Company, who sponsored the competition this year. The plaque will be up for grabs every year following, and will be awarded to the newest winning school.