Winners Announced in National High School Culinary Challenge

Angelica DeRobles of San Jose, Calif., and Jack Hogan of Portsmouth, N.H., won the grand prize in Johnson & Wales University’s National High School Culinary Challenge – Senior Division: a full-tuition scholarship worth more than $80,000 over four years, as well as a private cooking lesson with Food Network star and J&W alumnus Tyler Florence and a tour of the Food Network studios.  

The Culinary Challenge was created in 1990 as a way to showcase the talent of high school students and encourage them to follow their dreams in the world of culinary and pastry arts. A total of twenty-one finalists, twelve dinner and nine dessert, traveled to Charlotte this year for the finals. DeRobles’ “Chocolate Lava Tamale de el Chichon” and Hogan’s “Pan-Roasted Duck Breast, Butternut Squash Risotto, and Maple-Roasted Squash Puree” won over the judges in a very close contest.
 
DeRobles’ recipe is a chocolate lava cake baked in two cornhusks that are tied together to form the shape of a boat. Judge Gregg Hamm, a J&W alumnus who competed in the 1992 contest and is currently a culinary arts instructor at Lee County Senior High School and Central Carolina Community College, commented on the “unbelievable presentation.”
 
DeRobles attends Central County Occupational Center and is the student of Michelle Myers. Myers has sent several students to the finals during the 17 years the contest has run; most recently, her student Redmond Cole took second place in the 2004 contest. He currently attends the Denver Campus.
 
Hogan attends Portsmouth High School, where he plays varsity football and lacrosse. He said, “going with a New England theme to my dish, I attempted to incorporate as much local flavor as possible without it being overwhelming. The flavors all had to be simple, and most importantly had to make sense.” Obviously, it worked!
 
Judge and J&W alumnus Andy Husbands, award-winning chef/CEO of Ate Seasons Restaurant Group and author of "The Fearless Chef," commented that the dish was “restaurant quality … the duck was sublime … you’re hired!” And judge Cary Neff, president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and author of “Conscious Cuisine,” agreed that it was a “wonderfully creative use of flavors.”
 
The first runner-up in each category received a $7,500 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $30,000); the second runners-up a $5,000 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $20,000); and all other finalists $3,500 renewable tuition scholarships (valued at up to $14,000). In all, Johnson & Wales awarded nearly half of a million dollars in scholarships.
 
Karl Guggenmos, university dean of Culinary Education, said, “I am pleased to have watched these 21 future graduates of Johnson & Wales in action. They will be able to use what they’ve learned during this competition — about creativity, discipline, and grace under pressure — to help them in the classroom and in their future careers.”