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by Leslie B. McCoy, Tribune Staff Writer
Reprinted courtesy of the Philadelphia Tribune PA Learning Key,
In a serious culinary competition that concluded in serious scholarship money, local high school students demonstrated their cooking skills in order to win awards to further their education in the food industry. Communities in Schools of Philadelphia, Inc.'s (CIS) Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) held their 10th Annual Culinary Competition Awards Luncheon on Thursday, June 6. The awards were the meat. The potatoes (well...some chicken too) portion began a week earlier.
Part I
Wednesday, May 29:
The Culinary Competition
Let's begin with the potatoes. The culinary competition began with the young chefs preparing their culinary masterpieces in the ARAMARK section of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Madeline Brown is the Corporate Relations Administrator for Communities in Schools. "We have 15 students from the various Philadelphia high schools that are competing in C-CAP together," Brown informed.
Carolyn Wimbush is the Philadelphia Coordinator for C-CAP. "We are looking for certain skills," Wimbush explained. "Academically they have to be up to par, but we're not necessarily looking for straight As. Our objective is to take that kid that wants to do this, but doesn't always have the financial backng. We're here to try to support them and let them know we're here."
"This group is a combination of seniors and juniors. We will be watching them as they prepare. The judges will see how they are maneuvering and working. Over the years, we've had various competitions and activities to bring the kids together. We have our culinary teachers giving them additional skill training in French pastries and sauces, and up to what we're doing here today."
Wimbush stated that the Pennsylvania Convention Center has supported the C-CAP program 100 percent.
Royer Smith, the competition's host, is the executive chef of ARAMARK. Smith talked about his role in this very special competition. "I'm the chef in this kitchen. I ordered the food products they needed and got them organized. I reorganized the kitchen so it would be appropriate for 16 young culinary students to do their thing. I'm making sure that if there is something they can't find, they will find it. I'm basically troubleshooting."
Michele Roldan is a May 2002 graduate of the renowned Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York. "She is extremely talented, and is going to be famous in 10 years," complimented Royer Smith.
Roldan served as a judge in the 2002 C-CAP Culinary Competition. "I was in this competition two years ago," she shared. "I am currently seeking employment."
Because she was a part of this competition in the past, Michele knows how these students feel. "I felt nervous, excited, anxious and determined. You have to have determination to be in this competition."
Roldan says she plans to succeed in her career. "My dream is to own a restaurant or run a chain of restaurants."
Cookbook author Elizabeth Rozin was one of the judges. Rozin has authored several cookbooks, including Ethnic Cuisine , The Flavor Principle Cookbook , The Universal Cookbook , and Crossroads Cooking . "This is my first judging," she shared. "I think they are wonderful and they have a lot to learn. But they are clearly dedicated and are really into it, and I think that's wonderful."
Rozin told us what she was looking for as a judge in the contest. "I will be looking for mastery of using their ingredients properly. Cleanliness and hygiene is very important. I will also be looking for efficiency and dealing with the whole process. And of course, I'm going to taste it."
Student competitor Raul Rivera took a moment from the contest to share. "Professionally, I would like to go to Johnson & Wales and own a restaurant, as soon as I get on my feet." Rivera mentioned that he knew the judges were looking for things like keeping the area clean.
The dishes the students had to prepare were Poulet Chasseur with Pommes Chateau (a chicken and potato dish) and Crepes Sucrees with Creme Patissiere and Sauce au Chocolat (a dessert crepe that includes pastry cream and chocolate sauce).
Time was limited; they only had two hours. Talk about a pressure cooker (pardon the pun)! But these students seemed up to the challenge, working hard to finish their tantalizing works.
As you can imagine, because scholarship money was at stake, the chicken had to be just so, the crepes needed to be of a paper-thin consistency, and it was a must that the chocolate be ooh la la! The tension was so thick, you could cut it with a steak knife (pardon the pun...again).
Students were chosen for this competition based on academic performance. They had to submit a 150-250-word essay explaining why they wanted to pursue a career in the hospitality industry, and their desire to continue their education.
The following high schools are involved in C-CAP: Dobbins Area Vocational-Technical; Edison/Fareira, Fels, Frankford, Franklin, Gratz, Kensington, Mastbaum Area Vocational-Technical, Northeast, South Philadelphia, Strawberry Mansion and Swenson Arts and Technology.
Other judges for the 2002 C-CAP competition included Chef Fritz Blank, Deux Chemines; Chef Ron Goldstein, Executive Chef Consultant, Trattoria Al Fresco; Executive Chef David Greer, La Terresse Restaurant; Executive Chef Jean Marie LaCroix, Treetops at the Rittenhouse; Executive Chef Tom McCrenna, the Desmond Hotel and National Education Chairman for the Academy of Chefs, Executive Chef Chris Painter, Tangerine; Executive Chef Stacey Di Placido, Pagalle Restaurant; and Executive Chef Dan Reilly, Union League Hotel.
After the dishes were completed and the judges made their decisions, the students had to wait for another week to discover the outcome.
Part II
June 6:
The Awards Ceremony
June 6 is known to the country as D-Day. For C-CAP contestants, it was C-Day!
Here's the meat. The competition was held at the Union League at 149 South Broad Street in Philadelphia.
Leonard DeFinis, culinary instructor at Jules E. Mastbaum Area Vocational-Technical High School, served as Master of Ceremonies for the C-CAP 10th Annual Culinary Competition.
DeFinis began by addressing the students and their parents. "If you truly want to become successful, and are not kidding yourself, you can change your attitude and boundaries to become exactly what you would like to be," he said.
A welcome was delivered by Martin Nock, the president of Communities in Schools of Philadelphia, Inc. "It is really my pleasure to welcome everyone here," he began. "We appreciate you coming out and supporting our students, and trying to make this a festive type of award ceremony. I especially want to say thank you to all the chefs, teachers, coordinators, principals and everyone that has supported this program."
Nock gave special thanks to Carolyn Wimbush, who took the floor. Wimbush shared that her C-CAP experience has been "exciting, very rewarding...and very stressful. But it does my heart so much good to look out and see all of my students, teachers and staff. In the C-CAP program, we have accomplished a lot. We owe our success to a lot of people. I would like to recognize the school district administrators and principals here today that have supported their teachers. The teachers have worked long and hard hours to train and encourage their students. The parents made sure the students did the various competitions and programs, and made it to school. The chefs, judges, representatives from our post-secondary institutions and business partners have sponsored, trained and judged the various activities.
Wimbush also gave acknowledgements to the CIS staff. "Also, our students have made a true commitment to the C-CAP program," she concluded. "Today, we are here to honor you. We have had a lot of ups and downs. We have a long way to go yet. But we have survived. A quote from Dr. Hayre has kept me going that says, "Yes, tell them we are rising."
Recent CIA grad Michele Rodan shared words with the audience, as did Robert Armstrong, a previous scholarship winner.
Armstrong just graduated from the prestigious Johnson & Wales cooking school in Rhode Island. He reminisced about his college experience. "The two things that I got out of the four years that were very important to me are: No matter what school you go to or what job you are at, the most important thing is that you get what you put in," he informed. "If you go in everyday with a positive attitude and do the best you can, you are going go get out of it a good day's work and go home happy. If you put out sloppy work and not go to class, that's what you are going to get out of [of it]."
"The second thing I learned is never forget the people you met in the past, such as your teachers and chefs. They are the people that are going to be there for you when you need a job or when you are stuck making a dish. You can always call them up and ask them questions."
Kensington High School's Culinary Instructor and CIA graduate Penny Greenburg gave a teacher's perspective. "When I was in hIgh school, I wasn't a very good student," Greenburg revealed. "Then I got involved in cooking, and had that passion. Some days I'm in school working with kids that don't know what's going on, and they're playing around. When I come to a C-CAP event, the students are the best in the city. Wherever I go, I am so proud. I see everybody motivated and dressed well. I'm very proud of that , because in the School District of Philadelphia we are not all bums, and we are not all bad. You shine, and that makes me very proud. You help each other."
Chef Joseph Poon of Asian Fusion Restaurant humorously talked about coming to this country and learning the terms and phrases of American culture. He encouraged the students to learn how to create. "Keep learning, and don't give up," he said. "You guys are lucky. When you're young, you have all of these teachers. Keep respect and a great attitude. And don't waste time. Also, be safe. The most dangerous place in the world is the kitchen. If you concentrate and listen to what people are telling you, you will survive. And don't have a bad attitude, or you won't survive."
After Poon's speech a sumptuous lunch was hosted by Dan Reilly, the executive chef of the Union League.
Following lunch, C-CAP Founder/President Richard Grausman began the award ceremony, with Susan Church, College and Career Advisor for C-CAP.
"We are very privileged to be here today," stated Grausman. Grausman also stated that C-CAP is now in several cities. He and Church proceeded to announce the award winners of this great scholarship opportunity.
The winners were as follows:
Amanda Howell, Swenson Arts and Technology
Full tuition CIA Scholarship - $36,000
Maria Maldonado, Swenson Arts and Technology
1/2 tuition from Restaurant School - $5,125
Sabrina Norman, Northeast High School
1/2 tuition - Restaurant School - $5,125
Angel Oyola, Mastbaum AVTS
1/2 tuition - Art Institute of Philadelphia - $13,500
Jennifer Dougherty, Bucks County Technical High School
Johnson and Wales $40,000
Holly Warner, Bucks County Technical High School
C-CAP and CIA - $10,000
Jessica Castro, Kensington High School
C-CAP Education Scholarship - $2,000
Stephen McCorry, Swenson Arts and Technology
C-CAP Education Scholarship - $2,000
Shyheeb Gladney, Strawberry Mansion
C-CAP - Educational Scholarship - $1,000
James Davis, Mastbaum AVTS
C-CAP - $1,000 - Plus Fork Restaurant scholarship between $3,000 and $4,000
Certificate of Honorable Mention - Juniors
Raul Rivera
Louis Fletcher
Timothy Thompson
Matthew Samarco
Anthony Schultz
Junior - Vanessa Siberia, week at Culinary Institute of Arts plus $250 knife kit
All juniors will receive summer scholarships to the Culinary Art Institute of Philadelphia or the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College Summer Institute.
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