Last week, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools hosted its first-annual culinary competition. The event not only gave local high school students a hands-on cooking experience outside the classroom, but it helped highlight the role of the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in preparing students for the future.
The six culinary students from Chapel Hill High School and East Chapel Hill High School had an hour and a half to make what they hoped would be the winning dish. Dressed in new chefs coats, hats, and aprons, it was the first time many got to take their cooking skills outside the classroom and into a high-stakes setting.
A small crowd of teachers, administrative staff, and family members took turns gathering in the ECHHS kitchen to watch the students prepare their meals in real-time. Before bringing the food to the cafeteria for a panel of judges, the students chopped, grilled, and seasoned food calmly and quickly, while also leading a sous chef who assisted them with smaller tasks.
A Foods and Nutrition teacher at the school, Kia Bradsher’s student George Liannane took home a first place medal for his beef bulgogi. As an instructor, she said it was difficult at first to not want to jump in and assist. But she explained what it was like to see her students succeed on their own, while also being a leader to the sous chef.
“It’s a proud moment because you teach them all these things, and they just think they’re fun because you’re just having a fun time in the classroom,” Bradsher said. “But seeing them actually apply what they learned to a real-life situation is rewarding. It makes everything come together.”
ECHHS student George Liannane poses with his winning dish: beef bulgogi with fried rice. He tied with CHHS’s John Middendorf for first. (Photo via CHCCS.)
Sawyer Ramsden, George Liannane, and John Middendorf cook in the ECHHS kitchen with their sous chefs. Chartwells K12 associates, the sous chefs included Sahar Shahra, Nadiyah Wright, Erika Lewis, Chiquita Lawrence, and Jasmine Turrentine. (Photo by Emma Cooke/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Bradsher explained how Linnane thought of his winning dish after seeing fried rice served in a staff lunch one day. When the competition came along, she said he immediately had an idea for what to pair with it, created a recipe, and started practicing it at home. The ECHHS student won first place to tie with CHHS’ John Middendorf, who made a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich.
The judges panel included local chefs and former CTE teachers who gave high praise to every dish. “Chopped” winner and Osteria Georgi Executive Chef Dan Jackson particularly highlighted the teamwork between Zarielle Gaskin and her sous chef in making chipotle chicken tacos.
“I saw that team really tasting their food, which is something that you have to remind yourself from time-to-time in the kitchen,” Jackson said. “At the end of the day, you gotta taste it and make sure that it’s going to be where you want it, and I saw them doing a really good job there.”
The judges panel included WakeMed Cary Chef Norma Sanchez, Bon Appétit Chef Rob Jansen, Former CTE teacher and current CHCCS Director of Enrollment Dr. Quamesha Whitted-Miller, and “Chopped” winner Dan Jackson. Jackson is the Osteria Georgi Executive Chef and a CHHS graduate. (Photo by Emma Cooke/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Hosted in partnership with CHCCS’ foodservice partner Chartwells, multiple levels of culinary and food nutrition students submitted recipes for the chance to compete, and the six participants were the finalists from that process. District Career Development Coordinator Delisa Cohen said she hopes this is just the first of more culinary competitions in the district because experiences like it help prepare CTE students with life skills they can take outside the classroom.
“I’m in the kitchen right now, and honestly the skills I’m seeing are teamwork, communication, critical thinking skills, the planning and the prep, and using their culinary skills that they have been taught,” Cohen said. “They’re using knives, they’re working on the stoves, they have a sous chef that’s helping them. It’s amazing to see it.”
In areas like fire, technology, and emergency medical services, CTE courses offer more hands-on, career-driven learning opportunities than a traditional classroom. Cohen said it is important to highlight them because they help students both identify and prepare for future careers. While some high school students may not be thinking about potential paths just yet, she explained how offering real-world experiences like the competition can help open doors for them by being something industry-specific they can put on a resume.
Vianna Fornville makes chicken & broccoli stew with her sous chef. She said the dish started as a family recipe, but made tweaks to it for the competition. (Photo by Emma Cooke/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
Several students also shared how the competition allowed them to learn new things about themselves, like how they are capable of succeeding under pressure. Making what the judges described as a “perfectly cooked” steak quesadilla, Sawyer Ramsden added how he now feels more confident experimenting in the kitchen.
“I normally make the recipe with chicken, but I decided to switch it up this time and do steak,” Ramsden said. “The biggest takeaway is be ready to innovate if you need to, because I tried to do it in a pan and it got too soggy, so I had to do it in the oven and really switch my whole process.”
According to Bradsher, the experience checked “all the boxes” for students, including what she wants them to take away most from culinary class.
“I hope they learn to always try,” Bradsher said. “There are no real big mistakes in the kitchen, there’s always learning opportunities. And with this industry, the sky’s the limit because people always need to eat. No matter what career you choose to go into, this class, this experience, you can carry it with you forever.”
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story said both winners of the competition would appear as sous chefs in an upcoming episode of the lifestyle show My Carolina. That element of the prize is now no longer happening and the article has been updated to reflect that.
Featured image via Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
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