Students Apply Icing to Culinary Talents

Several of Los Angeles’ top chefs got a taste of the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday at the final round of a high school culinary competition featuring five Valley students.

The budding Valley chefs competed against each other and five students from other high schools in the event held at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. Each student was asked to prepare poached chicken breast in chives sauce, vegetables and cream-filled crepes with chocolate sauce.

The winners of the contest, sponsored by the New York-based nonprofit Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, won’t be announced until Friday. Prizes include full and partial scholarships to the prestigious culinary arts academy at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and the Swiss Hospitality Institute’s “Cesar Ritz” academy in Switzerland, among other schools.

Judges at Wednesday’s competition hailed from some of the ritziest restaurants in Los Angeles. Judges included John Sedlar, chef at Fusion restaurant, and Gary Clauson, chef at the Bel Air Hotel.

“I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the students,” Clauson said. “They were each given very explicit instructions, but two or three had their own creative presentations.” He added that he was particularly impressed by the crepes prepared by Roberto Servin of Monroe High School in North Hills.

“Everyone else made their crepes very big,” Clauson said, “but he did his smaller, beautifully folded, with little chocolate hearts around the edges. . . . Some of these students have had no formal training, and they already show great promise.”

Other Valley contestants were Mario Gonzalez, Rosa Rivas and David Ruiz from Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, and Rosalinda Valdespino from Monroe High. The culinary program was established in 1990 to introduce students to new cuisines, teach cooking skills and help them find hospitality industry careers.