Posted by The Burbank Leader, CA on April 06, 2008 at 11:17:40:
Student dishes are some hot stuff
By Angela Hokanson
Ingredients as varied as chocolate and sirloin, honey and cornmeal made their way into batches of chili served up on Friday by high school students from Glendale, Burbank and La Cañada Flintridge.
Students who are enrolled in culinary arts classes in seven high schools in those cities congregated at Glendale Community College on Friday for the college’s second annual chili cook-off.
The cooking contest, which was hosted by the college’s Culinary Arts, Nutrition and Hospitality Management Department, was meant to be a fun experience for the students, and introduce them to the culinary arts program at the college, said Andrew Feldman, the head of the culinary arts department.
Chili was chosen for the contest this year and last because it’s a quintessential American food, Feldman said.
“Chili can also have a variety of interpretations,” he said. advertisement
The past few weeks, the high school students cooked batches of chili in class, testing recipes and adding novel ingredients to make the stews their own.
On Friday, students transported the finished products to the college, re-heated the food with attention to safe handling practices, and added finishing touches like herbs and spices.
Each group of students then manned themed booths they devised and ladled out samples of their chili to bands of hungry Glendale college students and staff.
A team of seven judges — including Burbank Mayor Marsha Ramos and Glendale City Councilman Dave Weaver — tasted each of the schools’ creations, and evaluated the teams on the overall quality of the chili, the hospitality of the service, and the “showmanship” of the students’ themed booths.
The team from Burbank High School took the grand prize for best chili, and the hospitality award.
Their stew was a high-fiber, low-fat variation that used turkey meat, bacon, pinto beans, lemon juice and jalapeños.
“It’s flavorful, it’s thick,” said Ramona Nahapetian, 17, about the Burbank High chili.
The students from Burbank had tested out seven variations of chili, and had added ingredients like sugar and Tabasco sauce, before settling on the recipe they used for the competition, they said.
Glendale High’s chili was named first runner-up. It contained three kinds of bell peppers, beef and chili powder.
“That’s the kick,” said Tadeh Saghari, 18, about the spice.
The masses preferred the chili created by La Cañada High School, which was given the “People’s Choice” award for receiving the highest number of votes from passersby who tried the stews.
The La Cañada students ground and roasted their own spices, and added three kinds of meat to their concoction.
Daily High School won the showmanship award for a booth that was aligned with their health-conscious, vegetarian chili.