Local high school students participate in annual SW/WC Service Cooperative’s Culinary Skills Challenge
A group of local students put their culinary skills to both the taste and display tests during the 2016 Culinary Skills Challenge, a student competition of the Southwest/West Central (SW/WC) Service Cooperative, held Tuesday, March 22, at Southwest Minnesota State University-Marshall (SMSU). Their participation in the annual contest was led by Mountain Lake Public High School’s (MLHS) World Foods teacher Stephen Funk and Food Science instructor Lindsey Brown, both of the school’s ag education department.
The Culinary Skills Challenge features high school students showcasing their artistic and scientific creations through hands-on competitions and seminars. Competitors in the Culinary Competition vie for SMSU Scholarships of $2,000, $1,000, and $500.
The title sponsor for the challenge is The Schwan Food Company, along with 2016 partners Maxwell Food Equipment, the Minnesota Pork Board, SMSU and SMSU Dining Services.
Senior Alexis Jellema-Baerg and Akin Tema-Lopez placed first in the category of Menu Design, while their classate, Chuntana Sayavong, was second in Cake Decorating-Icing. A trio of seniors – Taylor Kass, Alexa Heffele and Carly Fast – participated in Culinary (Cooking).
All of the areas of competition include:
+ Baking Science.
+ Cake Decorating – Icing, Cupcakes and Fondant.
+ Culinary (Cooking).
+ Food Art/Sculpting.
+ Knife Skills.
+ Menu Design.
+ Pasta.
+ Place Setting/Napkin Folding.
In addition to the various competitions, students were able to take part in a large number of interactive sessions. These included:
+ Tour of SMSU and the Culinology Program: Southwest Minnesota State University Culinology Students – Students toured the Culinology and Hospitality Department and then blended food and science to make popping boba using molecular gastronomy.
+ Barbeque Pitmaster Basics: Bill Mulso, Professional Barbeque Competitor – Bill’s team competes in Kansas City BBQ Society sanctioned competitions across the Midwest. They are the four-time Mustang Territory Champion at SMSU’s Smokefest, have won three Grand Championships and placed fifth in the world at the 2014 American Royal Open in Kansas City Missouri. In this session, students learned the differences between grilling and BBQ and the variety of equipment needed. They also learned about some of the basic cuts of meat commonly used in BBQ and how to make your own BBQ rub from some common ingredients found in your kitchen cupboard.
+ Garnishes: Chef Lance White, Head Chef at Chef to Plate – Chef Lance specializes in healthy food to go that is ordered online and designed to fill the gap restaurants and fast food have missed. Chef Lance returned to share his expertise on presentation with several different garnishes and presentation style.
+ Pork Bootcamp: Chef Tim McCarty, Executive Chef at Sodexo, Mayo Foundation House – Chef Tim has been participating in the Culinary Skills Challenge for 10 years through his relationship with the MN Pork Board. He has 36 years of culinary background and was the 2006 Celebrated Chef for the National Pork Board. He has done seminars, cooking demonstrations and judging for The Taste of Elegance. He was the 1993 and 1998 ACF Chef of the year for southeastern Minnesota. Chef Tim taught a variety of pork cooking techniques from sous vide, to roasting, and braising.
+ Fruit Sushi: Andrea Caflisch, SMSU Dining Services – Andrea is a Senior Hospitality Management major at SMSU and the student manager for the catering and concessions department. Students learned how to roll sushi without having to like seafood. She used sweet rice with bits of fruit for the filling instead of seafood. The outside was either seaweed (for the adventurous type) or crushed Oreos for those with a sweet tooth.
+ Flourless Baking 101: Sheila Rae, Bizzy Lizzy Flourless Bakery – Sheila Rae is the owner and operator of the First and Only Flourless Bakery in the United States. The Bizzy Lizzy Flourless Bakery was out to prove that basic home baking can be done without the use of commercial flour. Participants made and sampled these healthier, flourless items.
+ Fun With Fondant: Manjit Harrison, Sweet Endings Gourmet Sweet Treats – Manjit has been decorating cakes for over 30 years specializing in fondant and celebration cakes. Used fondant to decorate a sweet treat. Students explored its versatility as a method of cake and cookie decorating.
+ The Clean Label Challenge: Carissa Nath, AURI – Carissa is a meat scientist with Agricultural Utilization Research Institute (AURI) in Marshall. The food industry has been challenged to reduce artificial and over-processed foods while maintaining taste and quality. Students toured the AURI lab on the SMSU campus and explored clean label products and compared them to their conventional counterparts.
+ Healthy Food BINGO: Meghan Kammerlander, SMSU Dining Service – Meghan is the catering manager at Southwest Minnesota State University. Have you ever seen a fruit or vegetable in the grocery store that you think is healthy but you are too afraid to buy it and try it? Healthy Food BINGO was a fun way to learn about and sample a variety of unique health foods.
+ Custom Cuisine: Val Hulleman, Reinhart Food Service – Val is the Healthcare and School Specialist for Reinhart Food Service. Do you know how to make a classic alfredo sauce? Do you want to know how to make creative condiments, aioli and season items like the executive chefs? Students attending this interactive session learned how to create their own signature pasta, flatbreads, burger toppings and other items.
Following is a photo gallery of those placing in the challenge, along with other participating MLHS students. All of the photos are courtesy of Gail Polejewski from the SW/WC Service Cooperative:
