The culinary department recently took four student chefs to a cooking competition on November 5, 2021. The competition took place at Johnson County Community College (JOCO). The competition took place in the JOCO cooking facility with around eight kitchens and gave them fifteen minutes to get set up, an hour to cook, and fifteeen minutes break down. 

“It’s actually pretty grueling,” Chef Anne Cort said. “It’s actually a whole lot more involved than just cooking.”

Students spend weeks working on a recipe they create to prepare for the tournament. The students must work out a cost to see how much it would cost for them to sell it at a restaurant and price it accordingly. They must also make a decoration for the item to help sell it on a menu.

“They make two dishes, one for the judges and one for display,” said Cort. 

Students are also going to these competitions for rewards. Students are able to win prizes like knife sets, certificates, and scholarships for their cooking. 

“I won a knife set,” said student chef Savannah Ford. 

Students overall felt the tournament went well and used it for experience for the future.

“I did pretty well, there was some things I could have improved, but it overall went pretty well,” said Ford. 

The tournament overall went well. Students came back with prizes like knives and certificates. It was also a great learning experience for the students.

“I was very proud, I thought they did very well,” Cort said. “This was not a major competition, this was kind of a minor competition so this allowed them to have a better understanding of what happens in major competitions.”

Students who were eligible for the competition were culinary students, but students who want to cook competitively are allowed to meet with the culinary department and talk about preparing their own meals for competitions.