Dutchtown students compete at 2015 Louisiana ProStart Invitational Culinary Competition

Four Dutchtown students competed on March 3 at the Louisiana ProStart Invitational Culinary Competition at the Ernest M. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Seniors Haley Stone and Cameron Gautreau, and juniors Joube Ryan Mitchell Bailey competed and finished in the top 10 at the competition.

Participating teams demonstrated their culinary knowledge, skills, and creative abilities during the competition through demonstration of skills mastery and the preparation of a meal consisting of a starter, such as soup, salad, or appetizer; an entrée, consisting of protein, vegetable, and starch; and a dessert.  Their performance during the event was observed and rated by judges from the foodservice industry, colleges and universities. This competition is designed for students capable of high-level food preparation.

Dutchtown’s team demonstrated its ability to work together while creating and presenting its meal.  Participation reinforced the skills and knowledge learned from the ProStart curriculum.

The team’s menu included Chilled Louisiana Shrimp Salad, a chilled shrimp salad with fresh full-flavored ingredients, including Louisiana gulf shrimp seasoned to perfection with Cajun spices over a bed of fresh watercress served with crisp homemade chips and garnished with creole seasonings.

Rabbit Stew

A savory Creole seasoned loin of rabbit in a mushroom and carrot stew, served over buttery gruyere grits topped with a garnish of bright red brunoised bell peppers and fried sage.

Coffee Cheesecake

A delightfully sweet coffee cheesecake layered with strawberries infused with a berry balsamic syrup and a homemade praline sauce all over a layer of buttery cookie crust and dusted with coffee and topped with a strawberry fan.

The outcome of the team’s work brought in a first award in Place Knife Skills, and a third place award overall.