Culinary academy hosts competition

By LARRY CLOW
Democrat Staff Writer

ARTICLE SOURCE:
Foster’s Daily Democrat

DOVER — As student chefs counted down the final minutes of the American Culinary Federation's Junior Team Culinary Competition on Saturday, the kitchen of McIntosh College's Atlantic Culinary Academy was a flurry of activity.

Plates were being passed around, pots of sauces and vegetables taken off the stove and simmering foods removed from the oven. But there was a calm amid all that frenetic activity, as members of the ACA's team began plating the food. Spectators and fellow competitors gathered around to watch as pieces of chicken, covered in a supreme sauce and topped with pieces of beef tongue, were carefully arranged on a plate with glacé carrots and potatoes. In 15 minutes, the team plated all four courses. And just as soon as the last of the desserts were ready to be presented to the judges, a hurried cleanup began.

"It's nice to see all of our training and all of our practice come together at the end," said ACA student Nathan Paquin.

The ACA team competed against teams from Southern New Hampshire University and The Balsams Grand Resort Hotel. SNHU won first place in the competition, while The Balsams and ACA took second and third place.

Paquin has been a student at ACA for only five months. While the regular classes at ACA teach students the fundamentals of cooking, competitions like this help give students a look at what a real restaurant environment is like.

"It's incredibly fast paced, the type of thing you do at a really fine establishment," he said. "It gets you ready for that right out of school."

The contest was divided into two portions: a skills portion, which tested students on basic kitchen skills like knife use and butchering a chicken, and a menu portion, during which each team had to prepare a four-course meal. The dishes were evaluated based on taste, preparation, presentation and timing — each team had about an hour and a half to prepare the meal, and with only about a 15-minute span to have all the courses ready.

Last year, the ACA team took home a silver medal and earned second place in the competition. But it's not about winning, according to Michael Ciuffetti, the team's coach and a baking/pastry instructor at ACA. The critiques the judges provide are a valuable learning tool for students.

"That's going to help them get better," he said. "It's really about increasing (their) skills."

The competition helps further prepare students for the restaurant industry and gives them a chance to meet other students and network, according to Ciuffetti.

"These skills are very transferable to the industry," he said.

The lead-up to the competition is even more grueling for students. Ciuffetti said the team has been practicing about eight to 10 hours a day, every day, for the last month.

ACA student Dick Felch of Hampstead said he was at the school preparing for Saturday's competition until late the night before. He had to get a hotel room so he could grab a few hours of sleep before he got up this morning around 5 a.m. to get ready for the event. Because ACA hosted the competition, the team was also responsible for preparing breakfast and lunch for the other teams and spectators.

"It doesn't matter whether or not we win," Felch said. "I had such a fun time. It was like an adrenaline rush."

Felch's family, including his father, Richard, came out to watch the competition. The beginning of the competition was slow, Richard Felch said, but once the cooking started, "it was pretty intense."

"It's not just a competition, it's an education," Felch said.

Felch described himself as a "sports guy," but said he was proud to come out and watch his son compete.

"This is like his playoffs," he said. The local champions will next compete in a regional competition in Pittsburgh. The winner of that contest will move on to a national competition in Orlando, Fla.