Culinary students put skills to real-world test

More than 100 Lincoln Public Schools culinary students sliced, simmered, diced and drizzled their way through the 13th Annual LPS Culinary Conference on Wednesday.

The conference, held at The Career Academy at Southeast Community College, individual competitions in categories such as fruit and vegetable carving, knife skills, salads and scratch desserts. There also were team competitions, in which students collaborated to prepare entrees such as skin-on wild caught sockeye salmon served on a bed of tri-colored quinoa, pan roasted asparagus, with creamy garlic sun-dried tomato and spinach sauce.

"This allows our students the chance to step out of their comfort zone and demonstrate a skill set that is necessary in the career field of hospitality and management,” said event organizer Denise Haag, LPS assistant curriculum specialist for Family & Consumer Sciences/Health Sciences. “It helps bring real world experiences to what they are learning in their culinary classes at the high schools and at The Career Academy.”

The event also included breakout information sessions led by culinary instructors from Southeast Community College and a local restaurant owner.

Here are the winners from the competition portion of Wednesday’s conference:

Team Event - High School Division

1st place: North Star - “Gator Chefs” - Daylaen Ellis, Gracie Smith, Phu Pham Tran

2nd place: Southeast - “The Un-fig-gettable Four” - Elora Maxwell, Autumn Hanson, Kira Mills, Evangelia Lengel

Team Event - Academy Division

1st place: The Career Academy - “Not Salty, But Classy” - Morgan Rief, Francisco Chavira Gonzalez, Corbin Reinhardt

2nd place: The Career Academy - “Spice Girls” - Hanna Christiansen, Melissa Bockman, Allie Fanton

Individual Competitions

Knife Skills - Grant Detlefsen, Southeast

Salads - Autumn Hanson, Southeast

Tapas - Ariana Larson-Pool, Lincoln High

Scratch Dessert - Megan Strodtman, The Career Academy

Fruit and Vegetable Carving - Alexa Thompson, Southeast

Garnishes - Jenna McCarter, East


Published: November 17, 2017, Updated: November 21, 2017

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