Indus School Report
“Ask and you shall receive!” That’s how it turned out for the first team of Indus ProStart students training for a cookoff competition.
A team of students had been preparing for the highlight of their training in restaurant management and culinary arts — the National Restaurant Association cookoff invitational at Sysco in Coon Rapids in March. But, due to weather complications — a statewide snowstorm alert — the Indus team was not able to attend.
This was a very disappointing outcome for the students who had been practicing and working on the menu for months, along with chef mentor, Dick Fancher. So, their instructor, Lois Lewis, contacted Hospitality Minnesota, a sponsoring organization for the event, to request an alternative arrangement for Indus students to participate. Their response was to offer to send chefs to Indus to stage a “mock” cookoff.
Chefs Thomas Kavanaugh, Todd Bolton and Michael Larson traveled to Indus April 19 along with Hospitality Minnesota representatives and Parasole restaurant concept developers Pete Mihajlov, Bill Naegele and Alan Ackerberg to “judge” a culinary competition performance of the Indus ProStart team. While they were at Indus School, they watched the students prepare three courses using only a butane stove for cooking.
The ProStart team consisted of Tyler Jonson, Maria Lewis, Wyatt Tessier and Bobby Whitfield. Ricky Lehman attended as an alternate. The event was open to students and the community with a good turnout from both. The entire competition took about two hours.
Throughout these two hours, students needed to properly handle food both in storage and preparation. Ingredients were carefully packed into coolers and plastic containers to demonstrate organizational skills and food safety training.
Students also demonstrated knife skills and sanitation.
Each process was judged by the panel of chefs and feedback was given after each session.
Knife cuts which the team chose to demonstrate were: chiffonade, julienne, mince and medium dice. After demonstrating knife cuts and performing mise en place (setting out everything in its place for preparing the meal), the team had an hour to prepare their entire meal, including plating.
Their menu consisted of citrus cucumber cups, pan-fried halibut with bell-pepper relish and wild rice, and blueberry cluckle (a cross between a buckle and a cobbler) for dessert. Chefs critiqued the team on style, taste, presentation and teamwork, as well as a food cost analysis prepared by the students.
Each person had a specific role in the preparation of the meal: Jonson used garnishing skills to prepare the appetizer, Whitfield prepared the rice and relish, Tessier cooked the fish and relish, and Lewis prepared the blueberry dessert. Cooking methods used were sautéing, frying, and steaming.
Kavanaugh, a restaurant owner from Brainerd who has judged state and national competitions, took the lead in explaining to the audience what each aspect of the culinary performance required. Later, he, Bolton, and Larson filled out evaluations and gave comments about the team’s successes and improvements that could be made.
The chefs found the menu to be “light” — fitting in with a current foodservice trend to eat healthier. The rice was cooked to perfection, and the dessert was delectable, the chefs said. However, they also suggested that sauces could have been prepared for the appetizer and for the fish, and they explained improvements in cooking techniques and presentation.
The experience was gratifying and fun for all. Junior Wyatt Tessier, who had observed teams competing last year and was looking forward to his turn as a chef, said “it was good to learn about what we needed to work on and to have chefs give us tips.” Both Tessier and Jonson said “it was a great experience” and, Jonson added, “provided healthy feedback.”
Mihajlov and Naegele of Hospitality Minnesota were ecstatic to have the opportunity to come to the school and see the dedication of the students. They are working with Family and Consumer Sciences teacher Lois Lewis and area restaurants to provide the team with chef mentors for next year’s culinary competition. Students can also participate in a restaurant management competition at Sysco each year.
Funding for the ProStart program is from North Star Electric, Positive Promotions and Carl Perkins vocational funding.
