On April 27 the Bath Tech Culinary class sent a team to U Maine to compete in the Innovative Local Foods Competition. Eleanor and Rory were up before dawn to travel to Orono. This competition is an opportunity for the CTE programs around the state to send a team of two to compete against their peers, preparing a dish using only Maine ingredients. The student chefs were introduced to their market basket, brainstormed ideas, and then had an hour and and fifteen minutes to complete their dish. They then had to present two identical dishes to the judges with a full verbal description. After the competition the students had a tour of the campus and the Food Science programs and lunch in the student cafeteria. Awards were handed out that afternoon. Eleanor and Rory came in second overall! Only on tenth of a point separated them from first place. On their score card the judges comments included-
" Great knife cuts.Good mise en place. Dish showed many different skills. Very thoughtful use of ingredients. Great execution. Treated each ingredient with care. Layers of flavors. Seasoned beautifully. "
In addition to taking second place overall Eleanor received a Judges Choice award for her overall presence in the competition and thought process.
The students are both juniors in our Culinary program and took the basic skills they have learned so far and applied them to local ingredients. The program had received a Local Food Grant which has allowed them to have visiting Chefs to the program and work with a lot of local ingredients this year. (Article by Chef Baldwin)
