Three Springdale High School students cooked up a win March 16 at a culinary competition at Don Tyson School of Innovation. “I'm still in awe, if anything, I'm still in disbelief,” said Leyla Fuentes, a Springdale High junior.
Ignite Professional Studies of Bentonville placed second in the competition, and Don Tyson School of Innovation took third.
Bentonville West High School culinary students also participated in the competition.
Thaden School of Bentonville and Pea Ridge High School students planned to compete but
didn’t attend. Springdale won the chocolate-based dessert and pastry competition by creating a chocolate roll filled with sweet chai spices, toasted pecans and white chocolate chunks. The dish was served alongside a chai latte with cocoa powder. The winning plate was accented with a dark chocolate disc.
“We started with just the idea of doing a German chocolate role,” said Claire Person, a Springdale High sophomore. She said the team decided to incorporate chai spices as they practiced and progressed in the confection’s concept.
Chocolate was a required main component for all competition pastries and desserts. The team had its ups and downs, said Dellea Edwin, a Springdale High sophomore. “We still communicated well, even though we were making little mistakes,” Edwin said.“But it's fine. Everyone makes mistakes.”
Event judge Erin Rowe, chef and author of “An Ozark Culinary History,” said she was impressed with the confections all the students created.
“There's so much potential and promise for each of these students,” Rowe said. “Every, single entry we had today was very impressive, and they were only points apart.” Additional event judges included Anna King, Sobremesa Farm Kitchen chef, and Meghan Baker, Harps Foods lead bakery decorator.
Competing teams are enrolled in courses such as Culinary I, Culinary II, Food Production and Food Safety and Nutrition.
Baker and Rowe said there is a genuine need in Northwest Arkansas for culinary professionals.
“So many people are no longer in the restaurant and food industry,” Rowe said. “Some of my restaurants have had to close down completely or strip their dining hours to just dinner or lunch only because they couldn't get enough staff.”
The shortage of qualified staff is also evident in the baking industry, Baker said. “I train new decorators, and we are having a hard time finding people to just even come through the door,” she said.
High school culinary programs such as those featured in the competition will make a difference in meeting the culinary arts needs in the region, Rowe said. Event winners received medals and bragging rights for the year. The winning school’s teacher, Lindsey Harlan, was also awarded a branded, wooden spoon to hang in her Springdale High School or classroom.
The event was the last school culinary competition for the 2022-2023 school year, Harlan
said.
Springdale High School won a chocolate-based dessert and pastry competition March 16 at Don Tyson School of Innovation by creating a chocolate roll filled with sweet chai spices, toasted pecans and white chocolate chunks. The dish was served alongside a chai latte with cocoa powder. The plate was accented with a dark chocolate disc. (Photo by Mary Jordan/Springdale Public Schools.)
Springdale High School’s Claire Person (front) and Leyla Fuentes (back) prepare the team’s chocolate roll filled with sweet chai spices, toasted pecans and white chocolate chunks March 16 at a culinary competition at Don Tyson School of Innovation. (Photo by Mary Jordan/Springdale Public Schools.)
(Left to right) Springdale High School teacher Lindsey Harlan celebrates the school’s culinary win March 16 following a competition at Don Tyson School of Innovation with team members Claire Person, Dellea Edwin and Leyla Fuentes. (Photo by Mary Jordan/Springdale Public Schools.)