2023 Culinary Arts Chopped Competitions 

Culinary Arts students competed just prior to spring break in Chopped style competitions where teams were given a new challenge each day to incorporate mystery ingredients into 2 identical plated dishes to be judged by adult volunteers from the community who support the Culinary Arts program. 

Students were given 40 minutes each day to view their mystery ingredients, brainstorm a dish using the mystery ingredients plus available staples from the kitchen, pantry and kitchen refrigerators, assign team tasks, cook/prepare the dish, plate the dish, write a menu description, and finally present and describe the dish to judges. 

Entries were judged on creativity, visual presentation, use of all required ingredients, taste, and menu item description. On Day one the challenge was to create an appetizer using mini pretzel twists, Maruchan instant lunch chicken flavored noodles, zucchini, and chicken sausages. On Day two  the challenge was to create an entree' that incorporated the use of Tofu, sugar (ice cream) cones, Kalamata olives, and sundried tomatoes. And on Day 3 students were to create a dessert using cream cheese, pineapple, animal crackers and barbeque sauce. 

Final scores were calculated at the conclusion of the three days of competitions with Team "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" from the midday, first year, class taking the top Gold level honor of Chopped Champions. Earning Silver were Team "Back Yardigans" from the a.m. block, first year, class and Team "Chocolate Chip Cookies" from the p.m. block, second and third year class. Bronze level awards went to the two remaining teams from the p.m. block, second and third year class.