Competing in C-CAP Finals, 2010

On March 13, the following high school seniors will gather in the kitchens of the Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale.  With nearly half a million dollars in scholarship money at take, they’ll be competing for the dollars that could help them change their lives – and take their fledgling culinary careers to a giant next step.

Cecilia LeBaron, Cactus High School

Mikel Guitierrez, Casa Grande High School

Andrea parker, EVIT, Chandler

Chelsea Edwards, EVIT, Desert Ridge

Kimberly Contreras, EVIT, Dobson

Joshua Duffy, EVIT, Hamilton

Naomi Merritt, EVIT, Highland

Luke Cornelius, Flagstaff

Ruben Brito, Flagstaff

Tanner Fleming, Flowing Wells

Samuel Clonts, Ironwood Ridge

Alexander Mayo, Kingman

Jessica McDaniel, Liberty

Andrew Allen, Liberty

Lourdes Barrera, Maricopa

Jesus Cruz, Metro Tech

Adriana Cabrera, Metro Tech North

Samantha Kratzer, Moon Valley

Kordiante Hyler, Mountain View, Mesa

Kristof Rowe, Mountain View, Tucson

Matthew Harris, Paradise Valley

Justin Richardson, Payson

Gladys Rangel, Peoria

Rebecca Hermance, Sinagua

Michael Jones, Thunderbird

Courtney Sowers, Valley Vista

Shelby Lake, Valley Vista

Kelly Stephenson, Washington

Kelsey Hancock, Wickenburg

Megan Layton, Wickenburg

Ten juniors will also attend finals, and will participate in making lunch for the event.  These are students to keep your eyes on in the 2011 C-CAP competitions!

Brigette Michel, Canyon del Oro

Ana Timmis, Canyon del Oro

Cameron Rogers, Casa Grande

Billy Lemke, Casa Grande

Juan Vazquez, Chapparal

Horacio Quinn, Douglas

Shelby Park, Liberty Sunrise Mountain

Brianna Zerth, Raymond Kellis

Jazmyn Hardy, Sahuarita

Nyisha Harrison, Sahuarita

High intensity, more focus

And a little tension, too, as 24 students open the first heat of the second preliminary with a scramble to find eggs and a plate for omelets.

They look ready, they look organized and the first omelets begin leaving the kitchen almost before the judges have completed double circuits of the industrial-size kitchen at East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa.

In short order, omelets are dissected, flipped open, pulled apart, tasted.  On to salads, where everyone seems to have a different game plan.

POSH restaurant owner and chef Josh Hebert has joined the five judges from the week past.  Five of the students competing this week work for him; so far, they all seem to be overcoming nerves.

“No tentative moves, good concentration,” he observes during his strolling.

Other judges note “a lot of waste here,”  and “I’m hearing a lot of dull knives out there.”

Then, “Even with dull knives, the cuts look good,” Chef Glenn Humphrey observes.

C-CAP director Jill Smith reminds everyone there are 65 seniors competing this year, and so far she has just enough cash for 30 scholarships. 

It’s a stiff competition all around this year, with Chef Ron Kindsfater, publisher of Restaurateur of Arizona, saying, “I haven’t yet seen anyone I would tell to quit.”

As salads in this heat are judged, these students still look energized, not even slumping as the judges remind them that practice makes a difference – and the final competition is looming.

In minutes, students are crowding into the kitchen for the final heat of the day and the end of the preliminaries. 

They’re moving a bit faster than the first group, ample demonstration that high school students aren’t really awake before 10 a.m. on any day, whether they’re in competition or class.

Chef Glenn’s admonished them to “Give us you’re a game!” even as he adds one more bit of advice:  “And have a good time!”

Not so easy, as is clear from the sober expressions around the kitchen. 

They really are moving faster, too.  Omelets begin pouring out in a stream, and nearly everyone pushes to get stations cleaned and prepped to start on salads. 

The judges circle and circle, writing and writing, tasting and tasting.   Several students pick up the hint, and follow up on each taste. 

It’s hard to realize, though, that each judge is also assessing appearance.  Messy cutting board?  No apron?  Swiping a presentation plate with a cleanup towel?  Ding.  Ding,  Ding.

Still, every student gains admiration “just for the guts to get up, get here and compete.  There are an awful lot of their peers who are still in bed.”

It’s over – except for the waiting.

Jill reminds everyone that emails will be out Monday.  Thirty seniors and 10 juniors will be set to compete in the final competition on March 13 at the Arizona Culinary Institute in Scottsdale.

Meanwhile, the judges concur.  “Practice, practice.  Practice knife skills.  Practice organization.  Practice the recipes.  Make sure your knives are sharp.  And taste.  Taste everything.”

All done? Time to relax!

Timing, timing...for a perfect omelet.

Nerves, no tears

C-CAP preliminaries begin

There were 48 students from 21 different high schools competing in two heats as C-CAP’s 2010 preliminary competitions began this past week.

Things were tense and intense as the first heat got underway in the kitchens at MetroTech High School in Phoenix.  Justly so, as it turned out.

Chef Glenn Humphrey, of the Arizona Culinary Institute, is leading the judging.  While he opens his quick review saying, “We’re not here to make you nervous,” his note that the preliminary to C-CAP’s final cooking competition is “ a new step to your future”  reminds everyone that the stakes are high.

He also reminds them cooking should be a joy but the 22 students in the first heat manage only weak grins as they wait for the start signal to begin their omelets.

Besides Humphrey, there are five other chefs servings as judges for the first preliminary.  Tracey Fierros, a chef with Canyon Ranch in Tucson; Ron Kindersfater, publisher of Restaurateur of Arizona; Noah Srebnick, owner of Urban Chef Outfitters; Gwen Ashley Walters, of Pen and Fork Communications; and Alan Zeman, of southwestern originals and an executive chef with Rational, USA.

They all walk slowly through the kitchen, clutching clipboards and stopping to make notes.  Omelets are finished quickly, and judging begins the minute they begin hitting the presentation tables.

Within minutes, it’s on to salads. Different organizational strategies mean some start putting together a vinaigrette, while others lay out vegetables and begin cutting.  Tracey Fierros walks through, tasting.

“I taste everyone’s vinaigrette to see the flavors before the vegetables are in, so that I can taste the difference,” she explains.

She and the other judges walk through the kitchen again and again, tasting, taking notes and doling out an occasional suggestion, which manifests as a quick demonstration as often as a question.

           

Salads come out for presentation slowly at first, with most showing exacting and careful attention to plating.

A brief wrap up that includes a quick overview of techniques and presentation quickly leads to the second heat, with 26 more hopeful young chefs. 

Maybe it’s the later hour.   There seems to be a higher energy level simmering away in the kitchen, as omelets are moved rapidly from skillet to plate to presentation.  It might be a little too rapid, as Chef Humphrey will point out later.

Salads, too, with swiftly moving knives cutting crisply through batons of peppers and jicama, are being pulled together with little hesitation.

The judges circle through the kitchen again and again, making more notes and observing carefully.  Even so, these students maintain their cool.  It’s clear that, as serious and intense as they all are, many of them are genuinely enjoying this time in the kitchen.

Chef Humphrey reiterates the predominant tone as he begins his wrap up.  It’s a big accomplishment simply to make the focused effort needed to enter this kind of competition.

But this is only the first step, and the finals, he emphasizes, will require more practice and focus.  “Keep in mind the price of a chicken and a couple f pounds of potatoes,” he urges them, “against the cost of a college education.”

That’s something nearly every one of these students has in mind already.  

As Jesus C., of MetroTech said as he put his plated salad out for presentation, “This was hell on earth.  I loved it; but every minute I think whether I am doing the right step for my career.”

It's a reminder that, for many, this competition means the difference between a power start to their professional education and a major struggle to fund books and tuition.

The kindness of donors

National Restaurant Supply (NRS) is one of the largest food service and equipment dealers in the U.S..

Started by Irving Gulbas in 1949 to serve the hospitality trade in Texas, the company’s grown. The large regional stores in El Paso, Texas, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Phoenix, broaden the company’s ability to serve clients nationally.

NRS is actively involved in working with hospitality organizations in their communities, and the store in Phoenix is no exception.

“When my grandfather first started the business in 1949,” says Drew Gulbas, currently heading Phoenix operations, “we began a tradition of treating everyone as if they are our number one, most important customer.

“We extend that attitude in working with those who support us now, and those who will support us in the future.”

Drew also notes that education is a major focus for the company, so that an interest in working with C-CAP “is a natural fit for us. We could also see that it’s a program that needs support from the hospitality community at large.”

This year, NRS demonstrated its commitment to C-CAP with a vibrant, dynamic equipment exhibit and demonstrations specifically geared toward budding professionals.

Besides persuading nearly a dozen manufacturers and suppliers to participate on site, NRS corralled enough equipment to provide 100 students with fully-stocked competition kits.

Total value of the kits, which include a slotted spoon, a whip, a cool handle skillet, a cutting board, two mixing bowls, a high-heat spatula, peeler, measuring spoons, a paring knife and a chef’s knife packed into a large plastic tub perfect for travel, was $17,000.

“C-CAP is a terrific program,” Drew adds. “We want to help these kids realize their dreams.

What judges want

Over the past few weeks, during practices and mock competitions, C-CAP Arizona director Jill Smith has offered very specific tips, detailing what judges expect to see during competitions.

“You want to err on the side of caution,” she says. “A lot of these are easy points, so don’t lose them needlessly,”

Here are a few of those she mentions most often:

• 1. Be professional in demeanor and appearance. (This counts for a total of 10 points in competition.)

a. Black or checked trousers, a neckerchief, a hat (no ball caps!). Sturdy kitchen shoes, not tennis shoes.

b. Little or no makeup, no nail polish, no acrylics and no jewelry.

c. Hair up in a hat, no tendrils or wisps.

• 2. Understand the size of different kinds of cuts and how to cut them (slice, baton, julienne, chop, dice, brunoise, mince, etc.) Learn to visualize the cuts as you do them and get out a ruler to practice if necessary.
• 3. Keep your cuts even, so that all the pieces in the salad are the same size.
• 4. Memorize the recipes. Save your scraps, but not the garbage. Think of what else you can do with the scraps (“’Stock’ is always a good response for vegetable scraps,” Jill says.)
• 5. Make sure your plates are clean after you’ve plated your food (clean up droplets, small spills, etc.)
• 6. French omelets are not like American omelets! There should be no browning, and eggs should be beaten so there are no remnants of white showing when the omelet is cooked.
• 7. Shake and stir, shake and stir – you want it creamy inside and out.
• 8. Get the whole seam of the omelet on the bottom of the plate. If you’ve shaken it enough, it shouldn’t stick to the pan at all.
• 9. Taste all along the way with each recipe. You want a balance in flavors – with a little zing in the salad dressing.
• 10. Practice, practice, practice.

One more thing. If you’re confident of your skills, know your recipes and your techniques, it’s okay to be nervous. You’ll be fine.

High anxiety rising

This is getting serious. Preliminaries begin this Saturday, and the students gathering in culinary instructor Jeff Stanhill’s kitchen at Liberty High School, Peoria, are not so much grim as intent.

With 21 here for competition practice, it’s crowded, too. Several have already completed at least one competition practice; all have been practicing technique and recipes at home and school.

Jill Smith gets things started with a lengthy review. If it had a formal title, it would be What Judges Want – Previews of Competition.

What judges want, it turns out, might be summarized by exacting technique, attention to detail and perfect presentation. Oh – and that stuff on the plate should actually taste good, too.

(We’ll post a summarized list of important points about competition later this week.)

Students were taking their time during this mock competition. Salads, set for a mere 35 minutes prep to presentation, were taking anywhere from two to 20 minutes more (most took around 10 or 12 more minutes, but every minute counts and anxiety levels were rising).

Omelets went more smoothly in terms of time and overall technique. As plates went down in the judging area, students eyed one another’s work carefully.

Judgment – and advice

Jill’s brought along Kirsten Kromann, a “professional foodie and blogger” from Seattle, Wash., to help.

As they begin working their way through the salad and omelet line-up, the kitchen quiets with Jill’s announcement that, with preliminaries on Saturday, she intends to be “extra hard today.”

She picks up a salad plate and begins.

“Your slices and cuts need to the same size. Look, here’s a slice that’s up a little. Use the tip of your paring knife as a tool and push it down before you turn the salad out. Shake it, tip it – no liquid should come out. Your plates need to be clean. Now, I’m gonna spread it out…”

Judges spread the salad apart to “look for something wrong,” she says. “See, here’s a weird piece of onion (it’s unevenly cut), and here’s two pieces still together – the cut isn’t finished.

“You need a little more cilantro. It should be evenly minced, almost like dust.”

Then she and Kirsten taste. “Not bad,” Jill says. “But it’s kinda blah. There’s no zing.”

They grill the student chef closely on the amounts of oil, sugar, salt and lime juice in the dressing.

Then they’re on to the omelet.

“I need to remind you, you’re not doing an American omelet. You need to shake and stir, shake and stir the eggs. Everything should be creamy. And back off on the pepper.”

When the omelet’s finally tasted, though, she says – except for the pepper – the taste is good.

Down the line they move, salads, then omelets, picking apart technique and taste as easily as the salads spread across the plates.

Brianna Z. has been taking notes. “Make it faster, watch the seeds (in the cucumber), keep your cuts in proportion…I’ve learned a lot and she hasn’t even judged mine yet.”

Nerves and steel

High anxiety and palpable nerves. The 16 students assembled in the culinary arts classroom at Gilbert’s Mesquite High School are way past edgy.

And this is the practice competition.

Everyone here seems to feel underprepared, jitters showing as C-CAP’s Arizona director Jill Smith runs through tips and protocols. High on her list today? Timing and readiness, professional demeanor. And scraps.

She reminds the students not to throw out larger scraps – the judges will want to see how much product has been used and/or saved. And they’ll want to know what the plan is for the scraps. She reminds everyone that “stock” is a good – and acceptable response.

Everyone begins, working carefully, intently…slowly.

Needed: knife skills

Becky Magee, instructor emeritus with Mesquite, tours the room and reviews progress.

“They’re very focused, and that’s a good thing. But I’m seeing some need to work on technique. It takes practice. The judges will take their salads apart. You don’t learn this overnight and we can tell who’s practiced.”

She’s especially focused on knife skills, where speed and uniformity count.

Only two salads are finished when Jill first calls time. It’s another 10 minutes or more before there are only a few more to finish and omelet making begins.

That goes more quickly, especially after a few students turn to their electric

ranges rather than wait for a gas burner to work with.

Finally, presentation plates are lined up and ready. Jill begins judging.

Blunt criticism and lots of help

Jill might just have a trademark on the term “constructive criticism.” Listening to her calm, straightforward critiques, you can tell she’s most interested in helping each student reach a new level of perfection. Any problems in technique or presentation are presented simply as challenges to resolve.

For instance, “Your cuts are way too big, but they’re really nice, straight cuts. Get a ruler out.” And, “I don’t taste any sweet and the recipe calls for a teaspoon of sugar. You might try a little more salt – it’ll help bring out the sweetness.”

On the omelet: “There are no wrinkles, the edges are a little ragged, and here,” she pauses to break into the omelet’s puffy mid-section, “inside looks good. You could stop cooking maybe five to 10 seconds earlier, and use more salt.

“But your cooking technique is almost perfect.”

So it goes as she moves through 16 salads and 17 omelets (from the student who’s competing, but also had to play in a soccer game and only managed to squeeze in the omelet between runs to the field).

Each assessment brims with sharp observations and helpful assistance, not so much tips as specific how-to-make-this-better.

Each student steps up and listens carefully, Most, like Alicia A. of North High in Phoenix, pick up their plates and pack their kits.

She’s moving especially quickly. Set for one more mock competition and two practice sessions before this weekend’s preliminary competitions, she wants to squeeze in a couple more practice hours at home this evening.

Just like every other serious contender in these contests.

Equipment pick-up – and an exhibit

Hey – lunch!

It was a bright and vocal crowd exchanging animated assessments of vivid, colorful equipment displays.

Friendly vendors rolled out a series of enticing appetizers, entrees, desserts and beverages, illustrating just how well all this exciting new equipment works.

C-CAP Arizona’s executive director Jill Smith and a troupe of volunteers led by National Restaurant Supply’s Phoenix team put together a small extravaganza of eq

uipment and cooking demonstrations. It was a brief introduction to a side of the industry new to many participants.

Around 60 C-CAP students, parents and teachers travelled across the state, coming

from Phoenix, Tucson, Yuma and Flagstaff. They turned National Restaurant Supply into a virtual hive of activity as they buzzed around exhibitors, crowding in for samples and descriptions of equipment.

Participating vendors included Hamilton Beach, ACP – Amana, Dexter, Cambro Manufacturing and San Jamar, among others. Active demonstrations, dynamic presenters and exciting products kept things humming.

ACP-Amana’s professional convection oven provided a major focus, especially with C-CAP graduates Brian Moore, Heidi Janeke and Jelani Port offering assistance and commentary.

Highlight of the afternoon was kit presentation. All participating C-CAP students received a large plastic tub. Inside, a slotted spoon, a whip, a cool handle skillet, a cutting board, two mixing bowls, a high-heat spatula, peeler, measuring spoons, a paring knife and a chef’s knife – everything a chef needs to set up a work station.

“Having your own knife is one of the most important things to a chef,” Jill says. “These are yours, to keep and take care of.”

Like the exhibits, the kits were made possible through National Restaurant Supply