Photo Gallery Jordan Molder and Nataly Mora with third place medals The Frisco team's entry

What can a good cook do with one whole chicken, a pound cake, strawberries and a selection of vegetables and starches, as well as a few pantry staples?

These were the ingredients provided to the high school culinary teams competing in the first Greater Dallas Restaurant Association Food Service Prep Culinary Competition on January 27.  The event was held at the Frisco Independent School District's Career and Technical Education Center culinary department.

The event had teams entering the kitchen at staggered intervals. Instructors were not allowed in with their students and the judges, all professional chefs, were on hand to observe students as they prepped food and presented their final product for tasting and visual assessment. The teams did not know the items until the day of the competition when they received their “mystery basket” of ingredients,

Jordan Molder of Wakeland High School and Nataly Mora of Frisco High School were the FISD culinary team. The two did not know each other prior to being picked to work together in the event. The two produced a colorful salad with a strawberry dressing, a chicken roulade stuffed with carrots, celery and tomato, and a dessert of pound cake soaked in a simple syrup and condensed milk mixture and garnished with a strawberry. Molder cut her finger while slicing strawberries – an action which cost the team time and kept them from producing a planned meringue.

But the young women still managed to place third, a true achievement for FISD as this is the first year the district has operated a restaurant-equipped culinary arts program.

Mora said it was unusual to be cooking in the CTE kitchen in confined stations, without the freedom of moving around the entire kitchen. Jordan said that the team felt really good about the dessert, particularly when they saw one of the judges snatch the last bit of cake off her plate before she put her dirty dishes into the sink.

“The judges were very complimentary about the girls’ dessert entry,” said Chef Jennifer Gause, CTE culinary instructor. “They were impressed that they did more than the traditional strawberry shortcake.”

The other top winners were Richardson High School, first place, and Wylie High School, second place. Other districts competing were Hurst Euless Bedford ISD, Royse City ISD, Keller ISD, and Plano ISD. Denton ISD’s team was unable to attend because of the weather situation.

The judges were Chefs Andrew Savoie of the Art Institute of Dallas, Stacy O’Neil of Le Cordon Bleu and Jules Smith of US Food Service. Sponsors of the event were Ace Mart Restaurant Supply, Hardie’s and US Foodservice. Refreshments for students were provided through the event organizers by I Fratelli Restorante and Pizza and Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group.

Jamee Green, Executive Director of GRDA, reminded students that the organization provides substantial scholarships to future food professionals and supports educational events and public awareness campaigns throughout the year. Applications for scholarships were available at the event. The GDRA 2008-2009 Founders Club partners include: Nationwide Insurance, Sysco, Admiral Linen, Ben E. Keith Co., Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Direct Energy, Edward Don & Co., Hardie's Fruit & Vegetable, Medical City Heart, Schepps Dairy and US Foodservice