Posted on Thursday, February 23, 2023
Kansas City Kansas Community College’s High School Culinary Team has proven once again that there is plenty of talent in the college’s culinary arts program. The team brought home gold and “Best in Show” from the Johnson County Community College High School Culinary Competition Feb. 10.
Fourteen teams participated in this year’s competition from both Kansas and Missouri. Members of the KCKCC team included – Caitlyn Mayes, senior at Turner High School; Lizbeth Flores, junior at F.L. Schlagle High School; Joselyn Valencia, junior at J.C. Harmon High School; Deanna Jones, senior at Piper High School and Ezequiel Perez, senior at J.C. Harmon.
“At first I was nervous about what I was getting myself into,” said Flores about her decision to try out for the culinary team. “But I thought this would be a new learning experience, and I have never done anything like this before. I am so glad that I decided to do it because I have met some really great people, and it has been a lot of fun.”
In the culinary competition, each team was responsible for preparing a three-course meal in 60 minutes. In addition, they had 15 minutes to demonstrate knife skills. Teams were not competing against each other, but against a set of standards established by the American Culinary Federation. Teams started with 100 points and received deductions based on errors made.
“At first I was not confident (in my skills), but Chef (Justin Mitchell) talked me into it,” Valencia said. “We all worked together as a team, while we were practicing and during the competition. We were always pushing each other to do our best. When something went wrong, we helped each other out. We really became a family.”
Students had the opportunity to try out for the competition team in December and started working with each other in January. The team, along with coach Chef Justin Mitchell, instructor in the KCKCC culinary arts program, created the menu. The menu included:
“Our culinary department is so very proud of how this group of students, which are from different backgrounds and schools, came together as one of the most talented and professional teams we have had to represent KCKCC Culinary Arts Program,” Mitchell said. “As a coach and mentor, we hope the students see the potential in themselves that we see, and act on it. They did just that. This team has proven that through hard work and dedication to their craft that they are champions.”
Mayes, who was on the high school culinary team last year, said one of the most important skills the team worked on this year was “making time.” This refers to getting each dish completed in the required time limit. She said often the difference between teams who earn a gold and silver medal during the competition is time.
“We made time for everything this year. I was so excited when we came out because I knew that was huge,” she said. “One of the best feelings during awards (at the competition) was looking into the audience to see Chef Justin and Chef Richard (McPeake). Each of them are amazing mentors and being able to do this for them made all of us very proud.”
Jones said she joined the team because she was looking for a way to incorporate the culinary arts into something competitive.
“I have been an athlete for a long time, so I was looking to do something competitive, but also to do something culinary. This allowed me to do both, which was amazing,” she said. “I work in a restaurant right now, but this was a way for me to just get more comfortable with how a team moves and works in a kitchen. When we won, I think it hit all of us at once, and we burst into tears. We worked so hard, all of us. For me, this experience has helped me find my passion again for cooking.”
Perez said his favorite part of the last few weeks has been working and training together to be the best they could be.
“We each had the opportunity to be a part of this and to see what we could do,” he said. “I had never thought about this as a career. But chef (Justin) really encouraged me. He was the reason I tried out for the team, and I am so glad I did. Now I would like to see where culinary can take me.”
For more information about the KCKCC culinary arts program, visit www.kckcc.edu or call 913-288-7800 or for Leavenworth students, 913-288-7750.
Category: Academics
Keywords: Culinary,TEC