COLLEGE STUDENTS, FUTURE CHEFS, WIN BIG AT L.A. COUNTY FAIR COOKING COMPETITION
Culinary students from several local colleges competed for scholarships during the L.A. County Fair’s Chefs on the Rise competition Sept. 9, with a student from Chaffey College taking first place. Participants were given 70 minutes and a pre-selected basket of food to prepare a main course and dessert in front of a live audience – and three discerning judges. Alice Wu from Chaffey received a $1,000 scholarship for her first place dish of stuffed chicken breast with couscous and peach sorbet with marinated peaches. Her assistant was Gustavo Torres. In second place was Jessica Yu of Cal Poly Pomona’s Collins School of Hospitality Management. Her dish was chicken breast with fontina cheese and baked peaches with balsamic dressing. Her assistant was Leah Cruz. Yu received a $750 scholarship. Yushu Teng of Glendale Community College took third place. She received $500. Her dish was miso chicken with peach upside down cake. Her assistant was Mingshu Hsu. In fourth place, Jenny Wong of Los Angeles Trade Tech received $250. She made grilled chicken breast with chipotle sauce and peach cobbler. Her assistant was Laura Monje. Jesus Moreno, of L.A. Mission College, took fifth place and received a $125 scholarship with his roasted chicken breast with herbs and peach mousse. His assistant was Darrell Dewaay. Competition organizer Dr. Jerry Chesser, a professor at the Collins School, said he and the judges were very impressed with the five students – and expects they will all go a long way in their careers. For more information, visit the Fair Web site at www.lacountyfair.com. /b.js>
