Release Date: Thursday, March 15, 2007

DHS Culinary team places third in state competition

The Durango High School ProStart Culinary team, comprising Ace Else, Kayleigh Probst, Trevor LaBonte, and Will McLaughlin (alternates were James Gonzales and Troy Gulec), placed third in the Colorado State ProStart Culinary Competition at the Johnson and Wales University in Denver.

The team’s winning menu included hand tossed greens with balsamic vinaigrette accompanied by mushroom-goat cheese fritters and garnished with red bell pepper confetti and aged balsamic. The entrée was a seared duck breast with orange-merlot gastrique topped with wine soaked dried cherries, accompanied by orzo sautéed with bell peppers and red onion, paired with sautéed asparagus and carrots. And for dessert, a mouth-watering bosc pear was poached in Ruby Port, accompanied by a dark chocolate pear bowl filled with rum sabayon, resting on a port wine reduction.

Teams have one hour to prepare a gourmet entrée, starch, vegetable, salad, soup or appetizer, and dessert. Only two portable butane burners are allowed to cook meals; no other heat source may be used, and no electrical or battery-operated devices are allowed. The team prepares a framed menu with descriptions and prices of the meal and a packet for the judges with the cost of each ingredient that shows how they calculated the meal’s price. The teams are judged on presentation of the plates, taste, menu, proper sanitation, knife cuts, use of correct cooking techniques, finishing each dish to perfection, overall creativity, and teamwork. No food items can be prepared in advanced. Teams must prepare two complete meals, one for the tasting judges and one for display. Specific restaurant industry standards must be followed.

The DHS ProStart Culinary case study/knowledge bowl team, consisting of Vanessa Clayton, Will McLaughlin, Ace Else, and Kayleigh Probst, is still waiting for results of the case study and knowledge bowl portion of the competition. In the case study competition, the culinary team is given a case study packet describing a restaurant situation with a variety of mishaps they must solve as a team. In a closed room with only the judges, the team is allowed 30 minutes to plot actions needed to solve the problems. Each member of the team assumes a specific restaurant position and must defend their actions to the judges. In the knowledge bowl portion, the team competes against other teams in a question/answer competition.

For more information, contact Susan Francis at 259-1630, ext. 2210.