Culinary team hungry for first place

The Newport Harbor High School culinary team will compete in Sacramento this weekend for the state title, facing off against at least a dozen high schools to see who can cook the best three-course meal.

For several years, the culinary team’s journey to Sacramento has become somewhat of a tradition. The team took first place last year. They ended up going to the national competition in San Diego but failed to place.

However, in 2006, the team won fourth place in the national competition, and in 2007 they came in second across the country.

Janet Dukes, the team’s teacher, is holding out hope that her five-student squad is going to go all the way this year.

“If they do on Saturday [today] what they’ve been doing in practice, they have a great shot at first place,” Dukes said. “But all the other schools are giving all they’ve got, too, so who knows? It looks like we’re going to have some stiff competition. But I’m proud of my students. They have dedicated themselves.”

If you’ve never been to a state culinary competition, it’s a bit like “any athletic competition,” said Alycia Harshfield, executive director of the California Restaurant Assn. Educational Foundation, the event’s sponsor.

Technically, the competition is called the ProStart Culinary Cup Competition; this weekend marks the eighth annual competition.

There’s a bit of a twist to the cook-off, too.

All competing schools may use only butane grills. No running water, no ovens, no electricity and no mixers are allowed.

“Think of it like camping out,” Harshfield said. “Only they’ll be cooking courses for five-star restaurants.”

Participating students from Newport include Gabby Gomez, Jessenia Hernandez, Eduardo Medina, Eddie Meza and Irene Martinez.

Jason Labahn, chef instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College in Las Vegas, will serve as the team’s mentor.

The competition will be at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Sacramento. The finals will be held in Kansas.

In all, Dukes teaches 150 students culinary arts, and in her advanced classes there are 22 students, five of whom are going to Sacramento.

Although there are 109 high schools in the state, only about 15 compete, with Newport Harbor being one of them.

“They’re going to be judged on everything, not just the cooking, although obviously that’s the most important aspect of the competition,” Dukes said. “They’ll be judged on appearance, cleanliness, organization, you name it.”