“Human Beans” Practices for Culinary Competition
SDHS Culinary's Competition Group Finalizes their Menu
March 8, 2022
The Culinary’s Competition Group “Human Beans” at San Dimas High School hosted a practice run during lunch for staff and students to see what it takes to be in the kitchen. They continue to finalize their menu for their Saturday, March 5th competition. Little components to their dish are always changing in order to get the best-tasting outcome.
The members of the competition group are Kiley Shaffer, Monica Pastor, Allison Carranceja, Kiana Conway, and Noah Martinez. In order to qualify to be in the group, they are judged by Nick Brandler, the culinary advisor at San Dimas High School. In the try-out, students have an hour to create a food item and from there, Brandler judges the dish.
There are three dishes that need to be prepared, the appetizer, entree, and dessert. The appetizer is a Ravioli al Uovo Pastor, Bison Strip Steak & Scallops is the entree made by Carranceja with the help of Conway, and the dessert is an Espresso Panna Cotta created by Shaffer. There’s also a fifth member, Martinez who is considered the manager. If someone is unavailable to attend the competition, Martinez takes their place. If the members are at the competition, he is in charge of keeping time, making sure the members are on task. Also, he is able to taste test the dish and give professional criticism.
“It’s pretty intimidating but we like it that way because your getting feedback from pros, it’s exposure that young chefs don’t get — Chef Nick Brandler
The competition is fierce and there are many challenges they must face. “It’s pretty intimidating but we like it that way because you’re getting feedback from pros, it’s exposure that young chefs don’t get”, said Brandler.
The group must make the same plate twice so that they can count for consistency and for display. They have one hour to make the dishes and are given two burners, no running water, and no electricity. All the ingredients are measured and prepared in advance and they are given limited kitchen space, leaving them with not much room to move around in. The judges walk around and judge the chefs on their knife skills, cleanliness, and how effectively they work. The group has to adapt and think on their feet because it’s a different kitchen from what they are used to.
This year there will also be an individual competition based on culinary’s sponsorship. The two biggest sponsors are Wienerschnitzel, and Idaho Baked Potatoes and the two competing in the competition are Deven Majeska and Ricky Jacobo. At the competition, there is a hot dog and baked potato and they have to add six components to it within 10 minutes. Majeska is creating the best hotdog and Jacobo is creating the tastiest Mashed potato.
Everything is choreographed like a ballet. There are times when Pastor may need an extra hand with the pasta, so if Conway is spending most of her time in dessert, at a certain time, she would have to drop what she’s doing and help Pastor. Martinez as the manager, informs the group when the chefs should be doing a task and when they move around, the chefs communicate to let the others know what they are doing next. With the hour they were given to prepare the dishes, they were able to finish in under 30 seconds. That time is very beneficial to the group because it gives them the extra time to make any last changes before presenting to the judges. The staff and other students were very much impressed by these younger chefs.
They prepare two of the same dishes and offered them to staff and students to taste test. The staff members were amazed by the presentation as well as the quality in taste from the dishes. “I was a little worried about how much kick there would be from the jalapeno and the other salsas in there but every bite is loaded, it’s fantastic, I’m in love with it,” said Beckford after eating Jacobo’s baked potato.
In the kitchen, The chefs have a professional approach, everything needs to be on point when handling the safety protocols. These young chefs are confident in what they do, being able to make others smile with the dishes they make. Human Beans is more than ready to take on other schools at their competition.