Now they’re really cooking!
Students in the Culinary Arts program at Nashoba Valley Technical High School won a recent statewide cooking competition and will represent Massachusetts this spring at the national event.
The students -- Jillian Cambridge (sophomore, Ayer), Colby Hebert (junior, Ayer), Alexis Linstad (junior, Chelmsford), Samantha Richards (junior, Chelmsford) and Tyler Zerbinopoulos (junior, Chelmsford) – won the top prize at the annual Massachusetts ProStart Competition, held February 11 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Next on the menu for the students will be representing the state at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland.
"They are a group of wonderfully dedicated students who have put a lot of time and effort into winning,” Nashoba Tech Chef-Instructor Carley Capraro. “It wouldn't be possible without all of the support they get from their peers, parents and fellow staff members.”
At the Massachusetts ProStart Competition, students from competing schools have one hour to complete a three-course meal using only two burners and no other electronic equipment. The students created the menu and determined the costing and plate design, with help from Capraro and Chef-Instructor Paul Wilson.
The team came up with a menu with a Japanese theme, including:
As an appetizer, pork and bok choy gyoza dumplings in a mushroom and carrot stock with macerated cucumbers.
For the entrée, pan-seared duck breast with a miso cherry demi-glace, Okinowan Japanese purple sweet potatoes and a vegetable stir-fry.
And for dessert, a pistachio purin (milk custard) with a caramel top, pistachio cookie crumble and tanghulu fruit.
“The students take this seriously as major scholarships can be and have been awarded for winning first place,” Capraro said. “They have been practicing two times a week for three months to get timing down to the second, and clearly it paid off. Now, moving on, they will practice even more.”
The state competition is sponsored by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, and the national event is sponsored by the National Restaurant Association.
