Just the right blend of savory ingredients earned Kathryn Howard first place in the inaugural Culinary Arts Mystery Basket Scholarship Competition at Southeast Campus. Kathryn won a $250 scholarship based on her dish of sautéed chicken thighs in a roasted red pepper cream sauce served with rice.
Thuy Nguyen placed second and won a $150 scholarship. Thuy’s dish was sautéed shrimps in red sauce over pasta with seasoned ground pork stuffed sweet bell pepper and salad. Third place and a $100 scholarship went to Jesse DeLeon, who served up grilled pork loin with a mustard cream sauce, served with sautéed peas and onions and mashed potatoes.
Contestants prepared entries from mystery baskets of ingredients and prepared four identical plates. The contest was open to current culinary arts major students, with a 3.0 cumulative grade point average at the time of the contest. Contestants also had to write a 300-500 word essay about why they wanted to participate in the contest.
The scholarships were funded from a $500 donation from Winn Meats to the culinary program after students helped the company last year at their booth at the Ben E. Keith food show.
Judges were culinary arts coordinator/instructor Katrina Warner, chef instructor Sherry Sipho, instructional assistant Jason Hamilton and Winn Meat Company key accounts specialist Mark Tilley.
Congrats to Kathryn, Thuy and Jesse!