A Taste of Culinary Victory

Pan Seared Bison Tenderloin with Native Berry Sauce and Arizona Mini Green Chimichangas: These mouth-watering dishes are award-winning menu items created by Edmond high school students! 

Edmond Sweeps Competition 

Two Edmond high schools won statewide culinary competitions at the Ben E. Keith Oklahoma ProStart Student Invitational. Santa Fe (SF) won the Restaurant Management competition and Edmond North (EN) won the Culinary Cooking competition. 

“For the first time, Edmond won both competitions!” said Cindy Conant, Edmond North instructor. “It’s impressive for students who are enrolled in these classes as high school electives.” 

The students’ cooking experience varies greatly, but most can cook simple desserts, pasta, and chicken dishes. 

“When my parents went to work, I had to feed me and my little sister, so I got really good at cooking eggs,” said Francisco Avelar (EN). 

“I like to make sweets. Right now, I’m trying to perfect macaroons,” said Lluvia Carbajal (SF). “Cooking helps me de-stress.” 

“I was forced to learn to cook. My mom is vegetarian, and I didn’t want to be, so I had to make my own meat dishes,” said Riddley Heim (EN). 

“I grill with my dad and make homemade noodles with my mom,” said Zaine Collins (EN). 

“I heard that culinary class was fun,” said Cell Welborn (EN). “Then I tried out for the competition, just to prove to other people that I could do it.” 

Designing Winning Menus 

For the Restaurant Management Competition, Santa Fe students had to design and pitch a full restaurant concept, including the name, menu, floor plan, décor and marketing materials. 

“Our restaurant featured iconic dishes from around the United States,” said Lluvia. “We had a California Veggie Burger for the west coast, Oklahoma Chicken Fried Steak for the central region, and Maine Lobster Rolls for the east.” 

“Not only did they research regional foods, they had to cook all these dishes they’d never made before,” said their instructor, Kristen Harris. “These students beat out seniors. For four months, they came to my room between nearly every class.” 

For the Culinary Competition, Edmond North students created a menu, and then had one hour to cook it for the judges. The students pre-selected First Americans Cuisine for their theme. 

“Once they came up with their idea, we connected with Loretta Barrett Oden from the First Americans Museum. She taught us that the ingredients had to be pre-European, which meant no dairy or refined sugars,” said Cindy. 

One twist for the culinary competition was that everything had to be made without electric tools, except for the burners. “Students learned, for example, to use a mortar and pestle,” said Cindy. “Each student was responsible for a certain part of the meal.” 

“I had to focus and do my part well, and trust that the others did their parts well, too,” said Cell. 

Taste of Victory 

The students hoped to score in the top six, so when the second-place winner was announced, they assumed that they were out of the running. Being declared the winners caused strong reactions: 

“Shock! I was freaking out! It seemed impossible that we would win,” said Cell. “Culinary has opened a door that I could step into as a career.” 

“Confusion,” said Lucy Escalona (SF). “Cooking is a hobby, and now I’ve won a scholarship.” 

“I would have been happy with third, so first place was incredible,” said Zaine. 

“We never told them they couldn’t win,” said Cindy. “They needed to create food and execute it with excellence. They did. Now, they are headed to Baltimore to compete for the national title.” 

“The students gained a well-rounded understanding of the restaurant industry, including management and hospitality,” said Kristen. “Cooking is fun, but restaurant cooking and home cooking are different.” 

“I’ve learned a lot of important life skills, and it’s made me a more confident person,” said Emily Schwartz (SF). “I think I’ll go into the restaurant business.”