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ORONO, Maine (WABI) – Things were heating up in the kitchen Thursday on the UMaine Campus in Orono.
Students from Career and Technical Education Culinary Arts programs across the state put their cooking skills to the test for a friendly competition.
It’s all part of the Professional Development in Agricultural Literacy Project with students across the state.
“They’re getting an opportunity to taste things they’ve never tasted and really celebrate Maine agriculture in the hopes that when they go out in the world to work in hospitality and food service around Maine that this helps inform their buying decisions,” said Rob Dumas, the Food Science Innovation Coordinator at the Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant.
In just two hours, the young chefs were tasked with conceptualizing a dish with fresh, local ingredients, then bringing it to life.
“We want them to be able to work with each other, we want them to be able to work under stress, we want them to work with their instructors, take direction, think creatively, and then to be able to present and talk to the judges,” Dumas said.
Each pair of students had an instructor with them to help make suggestions along the way.
“Relax, taste it, talk to each other, piggy back off each other as far as the flavors and rehearse what you’re going to say. Judges eat with their eyes,” said Emily Mawhinney, a culinary arts instructor, Coastal Washington County Institute of Technology.
“Ultimately we want them to have a successful event, we want them to experience the new foods and if their instructor can provide a little support on how to cook those mushrooms or when to put the salmon in the pan. I’m happy to let that be a part of it,” Dumas said.
The instructors, who are chefs themselves, say the students are learning more than just how to cook through these competitions.
“This industry is very, very demanding, and there are a lot of job openings now because of the pandemic, so they’re in high demand which is great, but they have to still have the hard work ethic in order to keep those jobs,” said Heidi Parent a culinary instructor Capital Area Technical Center.
“Working from the bottom up, you’ve got to learn how to wash dishes, and you have to learn to communicate with each other and respect every position in the kitchen. Nothing is above you,” Mawshinny said.
After plating their creations, each team of students presented their dish to the judges explaining why they chose each ingredient and cooking style.
From salmon to potatoes and even biscuits and gravy, the judges say they were impressed with what they put together.
“It was Atlantic salmon on top of a bed of fresh sautéed kale with seasoned potatoes topped with a sweet and sour glaze,” said Dustin Taylor, a senior at Machias High School.
When the stress of the morning was over, the competitors say they learned a lot and are looking forward to their future careers in the industry.
“It’s a very stressful process, and overall, it’s very overwhelming, but overall it’s a lot of preparation a lot of focus and a lot of work,” said Nathan White, a senior at Jonesport Beals High School.
The first place award went to Brady and Nick from Houlton, with second place going to the team from the capital area tech center in Augusta and third place was a team from Lincoln.
The first place team will go home with a basket of kitchen tools to help with their future culinary endeavors.
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