Students throw down in culinary competition

VERNON — Hundreds of hungry residents attended the Vernon Township High School’s Third Culinary Throwdown last Wednesday. The competition pitted four teams of students and guest chefs to make the most of a combination of ingredients and one mystery ingredient — turkey.

Winning team leader Chef Christian Cortes, an employee at Sodexo’s Hillsboro School District facilities brought together winning Vernon Township High School students Cassidy Braico, Jenn Redfern, Jess Rueger and Ashley Weigel.

Their winning menu consisted of Cheesy Cajun turkey potato balls, Stuffed Toquitos rolls made with freshly made sofrito sauce and a blend of fresh veggies and turkey. The meal was topped off with stuffed strawberries for dessert.

According to VTHS Chef and Manager Carla Brandt, they received a plaque and the title of “Master of the Culinary Throwdown.”

Held in the school’s cafeteria, the evening was billed as the “Super Bowl” of cooking competitions and was sponsored by Sodexo, the company that handles the school’s food concession. Music was supplied by the VTHS Jazz Express under the direction of Dave Willer of the Glen Meadow Middle School.

Each team had a mentor chef. The chefs were Florian Wehril from Crystal Springs Resort, Vincent Jurczyszyn from Smokey’s Brick Oven Tavern, James Trusa a high school Vice Principal, and the winning chef, Christian Cortes. Each chef assisted in the food preparation and presentation. All food items were provided by Sodexo, including the mystery ingredient that had to be incorporated into an item that was to be served.

Each team was required to prepare a starter course, entrée and dessert. They had about 75 minutes to prepare, name and present their creations to a panel of judges that included renowned rib master Eric Figueroa from the Double S Diner, Peggy Benke a retiring home economics teacher, Walter Felix a seasoned food representative and Nancy LoPresti a high school vice principal.

The teams were judged on a number of criteria including; cooking techniques, skills and mastery of fundamentals, presentation, creativity, flavor and taste. For Figueroa, his focus was on how well each mentor chef brought together and motivated their respective team.

Admission was charged, however, all proceeds are earmarked for the Family and Consumer Science Scholarship Fund, which will be awarded to a deserving graduating FACS student. According to VTHS Chef and Manager Carla Brandt, the scholarship will cover such disciplines as Culinary Arts as well as Fashion and Early Childhood Development.