Huron High School recently had teams competing in all three categories of the S.D. ProStart Competition: Culinary, Management, and Cake Decorating.
The competition was help in Pierre March 10-11.
Teams participating were:
Culinary Team Galilea Garcia, Charlie Marin-Gonzalez, Laurelis Medina and Davis Osier
Management Team Paw Ah Moo and Maria Wilson
Cake Decorating – Laurelis Medina
Earning the Top Overall Knife Skills Awardwas Laurelis Medina
The class at HHS is taught by Jessica Rodacker, Career and Technical Education and Family and Consumer Science.
Junior Davis Osier said he has always enjoyed cooking and baking, but learned so much more than measuring ingredients and reading a recipe in the class. He talked about learning proper knife skills and how to store and use ingredients.
I wanted to become more familar in the criteria needed to make it a career, Osier said. Everyone had key roles in making sure the food came out in time and in good condition. It was a great experience and fun to learn while cooking.
We were in a time crunch, but we stuck to our plan and did very well, he added. I think the place we got was well deserved and I am proud of what we accomplished.
Senior Maria Wilson said she took the class to learn basic skills of cooking and because I thought it would be an easier class.
She learned basic skills and much more.
The competition was fun but nerve-racking, Wilson said. We both had our roles when competing and talking to the judges. There was a lot of work to do prior to the competition. The experience was stressful, but it also taught me so much more about the little details that are needed to keep a restaurant successful from food to the layout.
The experience was like no other that you can find anywhere, and I am so grateful that I was able to have the opportunity to be a part of it, she added.
Senior Laurelis Medina, who earned the Top Overall Knife Skills Award, found the course and competition both fun and stressful.
I thought it would be a fun and easy credit, Medina said. I got to learn a lot from an enjoyable teacher. Some key points that I learned include knife skills how not to cut myself, food presentation techniques and the importance of creativity and experimentation.
She said they had the opportunity to try out many fun ideas and come up with last-minute concepts to bring a meal together.
The competition was very stressful at first, but after a while we got the hang of it and relied on what we had already practiced, Medina said. Everyone had a specific role, whether it was measuring ingredients, cleaning plates or cooking.
For the cake competition, my second time wasnt as bad, she said. Although many things went wrong initially, I stayed calm, found solutions and was able to come up with a final product and have fun while doing it.
Junior Galilea Garcia said she wanted to take the Culinary Arts class to learn how to pair different types of food.
Some key points I have learned are certain types of knife skills and how to stay safer in the kitchen, she said. The competition was fun and exciting, considering this was our first year going for the culinary competition.
We all had our own part of the recipe to complete or help with, Garcia said, adding: We also had judges and others watching us prepare the dishes which was intimidating at times. It was stressful sometimes because we were in a new environment but we also felt comfortable, since we prepared ahead of time. Overall the experience was fun and something new, we made new friends and learned new skills over the course of a few weeks.
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