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Surviving
the Heat of the Kitchen |
by:
ARA |
(ARA)
- You’ve seen aspiring singing idols, survivors
in the wilderness and gold-medal athletes.
Now meet the Best Teen Chef in America Patricia
Homma, who sautéed, roasted and whisked
her way to the top award in a national high
school Culinary Arts scholarship competition
sponsored by The Art Institutes, a leading
educator in design and culinary arts nationwide.
After an intense two-hour cook-off, competing
with 17 other high school seniors from around
the country, Homma, an honors student at
Wheeler High School in Marietta, Ga., was
awarded the gold medal and a $30,000 scholarship
to attend The Art Institute of Atlanta.
The competition was held at The Art Institute
of New York City.
Homma dreams of having all her family and
friends celebrate every holiday at her home,
the way it was at her mom’s house growing
up in Brazil. After she moved to the United
States in 1997, Homma began to watch cooking
shows on television after school and was
inspired to try some recipes and start cooking
for her family. She’s been cooking ever
since, for her friends as well. Although
busy with work and a local youth group,
she still finds time to watch Food TV, where
her current favorites are “Iron Chef” and
“30-Minute Meals with Chef Rachael Ray.”
Each contestant submitted a three-course
menu as part of the entry requirements.
Homma’s menu was titled “Tropical Sensations”
and featured spinach and mango salad and
grilled salmon (recipes below).
Now in its fourth year, The Art Institutes
Best Teen Chef in America competition is
an annual scholarship program that seeks
to spotlight and recognize the most promising
young culinary talent in the country. Eighteen
high school seniors and would-be chefs were
selected as finalists at regional competitions
held in March at each of the Art Institutes
where Culinary Arts programs are offered.
More than $190,000 in tuition scholarships
was awarded to the top nine finalists.
Next year’s Best Teen Chef 2004 competition
will take place at The Art Institute of
California - Orange County on May 22. Deadline
for entries is Feb. 13, with local cook-off
competitions taking place March 27. To receive
information, register at www.artinstitutes.edu/today.
First through third place winners received
$30,000 scholarships from The Art Institutes.
In addition to Homma, second place finisher
Lauren Cianfrani, representing The Art Institute
of Philadelphia and Jenny Winiecki, representing
The Art Institutes International Minnesota,
who finished third, received $30,000 scholarships.
Courtesy of ARA Content
About the author:
Courtesy of ARA Content
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