High schoolers turn up the heat in Chopped competition

Walking through the hallways of Freedom High School on May 8, the scent of fresh-cooked chicken and salmon hit the nose before the clattering pots, pans, and utensils reached the ears. The annual Chartwells-hosted Chopped competition was underway.

Each of the teams — one from each traditional Burke County high school — donned school color-coordinated aprons, whipping up dishes made with the mystery meats revealed at the beginning of the competition: chicken and salmon.

“It builds the enthusiasm for the field that they want to go into,” said Chartwells Head Chef Auden Joseph, as his eyes scanned the contestant stations like a hawk surveying a field. “It also helps them to get the mindset of working together as a team.”

The competition operates much like the Food Network television show, albeit with student teams instead of veteran chefs.

Joseph and other Chartwells staff planned the ingredients, providing teams with plenty of sauces and fresh vegetables to consider when planning dishes for the first hour of the competition.

“I think what we need to look at is the diversity in the kitchen,” the chef said. “With that diversity, there’s going to be a lot of, maybe, home-cooked meals that the students will want to highlight from their culture. I think that will place a very good emphasis (on) … thinking outside the box.”

The students divided and conquered, occasionally branching across to assist each other between tasks.

Freedom sophomore Serah Randolph rolled gnocchi, pinching and separating the ingredients before passing them to the stove. Her cousin, Draughn junior Emma Starrett, washed dishes and helped find ingredients for her team across the room.

Emma later said competing against Serah made her anxious because her cousin is so good at cooking.

Freedom said they’d been preparing and practicing since January. Other teams laughed at the question, admitting they’d only been working together for a week. The Draughn team came together for the first time on the day of the competition.

“We’re winging it,” said Draughn Foods teacher Maggie Prass, smiling sheepishly as her students worked nearby.

SIDE COMPETITION

As teams cooked, Chartwell Assistant Director of Dining Services Tiffany Vess pulled one student from each team to compete in taste tests, blindfolding them and feeding them samples of ingredients.

The students then guessed at what they were chewing, with their accuracy also affecting their teams’ overall scores.

After the first round of kiwis, onions, pickles, spinach, and chocolate, it boiled down to two schools: Dayana Mendoza from Freedom and Elliot Wilson from Patton.

Elliot cinched the win on a technicality after two tie-breaker rounds, guessing “zucchini” while tasting yellow squash, earning the point boost for the Patton team and a small trophy.

Elliot, who had sustained a knee injury only a week before and sat out the rest of the competition, said she didn’t want to burden her team.

“It’s harder to get around the kitchen,” she explained, walking back to the table near her team’s station.

BACK TO THE COMPETITION

In the main competition room, the chef kept the students updated on the remaining time. Students picked up their paces as the minutes grew short, some garnishing desserts and entrees while others were still plating their dishes.

Down to the seconds. 30. 10. Three. Two. One.

“Stop, everybody,” the chef yelled as the sounds of spoons and other utensils clinked into sinks and onto pans. “Out of your kitchen space!”

JUDGING AND SAMPLES

After tasting, the judges deliberated while the students prepared and served small sample plates to the audience. As soon as they were able to mingle, Serah and Emma met up.

“We’ve been talking about it a lot recently,” Emma explained. “It was very fun. After the competition, we met up together at her station. I tried her food, she tried my food. We both agreed that it was very good and we congratulated each other.”

Each team earned scores based on the same criteria, including everything from appearance on the plate to sanitation and, of course, the taste.

Serah’s team took first place with handmade gnocchi in a cream sauce with blackened salmon, along with a vanilla cupcake filled with strawberry compote and topped with buttercream frosting. Emma’s team, despite “winging it,” narrowly finished second with honey-garlic salmon, seasoned roasted asparagus, and a strawberry-lemonade cake with raspberry purée.

Students relaxed following the competition and visitors like Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan, several board members, and faculty from across the schools floated around the stations, trying each meal. As the stove tops cooled, the room filled with the sounds of laughter, mingling, and a symphony of “Mmm, that’s good.”