Cooking Up The Competition

Written by Aramark dietitian Elisha Bury, RD, LD

Ready to defend their state title from a year ago, culinary students from the B.R. Johnson Career & Tech Center were fired up in the third annual Lone Star Chef Regional Competition to see which team would represent Crowley ISD at the state contest at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The state winners earn the state trophy and a $2,500 scholarship.

Senior Daijah Andrews of Team Black Magic adds the finishing touches to the regional winning dish, the Fiesta Bowl.

In addition to a strict 30-minute time limit and nutrition requirements that limited saturated fat, salt and calories, the young chefs had to work in two of the three mystery ingredients introduced by Aramark Executive Chef Tessa Collins: black garlic sauce, kumquats and kale.

“We chose these mystery ingredients because they were very diverse in terms of texture and flavor profiles,” Collins said. “These were also unique items the kids may not have worked with before.”

Junior Ny’Evan Keeton returned to competition after helping CISD claim the state trophy last spring, alongside graduated seniors Arturo Gonzalez and Paola Raya. This year, Keeton joined two new teammates – seniors Daijah Andrews and Nicholas Bradden – to form Team Black Magic and a game plan to get back to the state championship.

“My strategy is to work well with my team,” Keeton said as he sautéed shredded chicken.

From the time the clock started ticking, Black Magic started communicating. After dividing the tasks, the trio stayed focused, constantly talking as they whipped up the Fiesta Bowl - a dish highlighted with grilled shredded chicken, rice, bell peppers and cilantro jalapeno ranch made from scratch that scored big points with the judges. Andrews created the spicy sauce, although she ran into a few problems.

“It didn’t blend that well at first, but I let the blender go and it came out really smooth,” she said.

Around 70 students are enrolled in the culinary program at B.R. Johnson Career & Tech Center. Instructor Chef Zameika “Z” Williams was proud to see her students using their knife and food preparation skills during the competition.

Team Black Magic with instructor Chef Zameika "Z" Williams

After time ran out and the judging panel was offered its first taste, the final scores were so close that two of the teams, Black Magic and the Kitchen Queens, were tied. After the judges took a harder look at the scores and deliberated, it was announced that Black Magic would advance to the state finals on March 29.

Black Magic’s Fiesta Bowl will land on Crowley ISD’s high school menus this spring so students can enjoy the state-bound dish.

Aramark would like to extend a special thank you to this year’s expert panel of judges:

• Gary Grassia - CISD Board of Trustees Assistant Secretary and owner of Simply Fondue

• Randy Reaves - CISD Executive Director of Non-Instructional Services

• Dr. Pamela Berry, CISD Executive Director of Secondary Leadership

• Stefani Allen, CISD Director of Social/Emotional Learning and Secondary Programming

• Markeba Warfield, B.R. Johnson Career & Tech Center Principal

• Jeanna Ratnayake, Aramark district manager