Salt Lake Community College’s Cooking Competition
Of course, the chefs had to use yogurt in each of their dishes.
Sarah Lowe had no experience in cooking competitions of any kind prior to the Dannon event. “I have never competed before, it sounded fun,” she said. “This event was a great way to get some experience competing.”
Lowe characterized the days leading up to the competition as exciting. While she didn’t know what to expect, Lowe found her advisors at the College capable of providing invaluable help. “Stephanie Tanner, the President of the Culinary Club at SLCC, was very helpful at answering all my questions,” she said.
Whitlock’s experience with on-the-fly improvisation and use of seemingly arbitrary ingredients gave Whitlock tailor-made the nature of the competition to his skill set. The competitors held a draft, in which each team selected one ingredient until they each had what they needed to make their dishes.
Educators in elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and universities are finding that the single-most important trait a student can possess that portends future success is grit. And Whitlock came to the College with his share.
Whitlock had a construction career working as a framer. Cooking for himself and his friends after work was something that he enjoyed. “My friends all told me that I needed to find a job where I could cook because it always made me so happy,” he said.
When he lost his construction job, he had some money saved and decided to pursue a new career in cooking. He found work at a local senior center. “At first it was hell. I had no idea what I was doing,” he said. “But I stayed with it. I really wanted to figure out what I didn’t know how to cook. I learned a lot, got better, and decided to go to school to study culinary arts.”
Like Whitlock, Lowe has long had a love for cooking. Her decision to enroll in the College Culinary Arts program was based on it being the only school in Utah currently certified with the ACF—the organization that operates the most comprehensive certification program for chefs in the United States.
Lowe called the competition a great learning experience. “It was fun to answer people’s questions about what we were doing and show off our dishes,” she said. The time limitations weren’t too short, we had 45 minutes to get our dishes out, so we had just enough time to get everything cooked and plated nicely.”
All three competitors put together dishes they were comfortable with and that were big hits with the audience that had gathered for the event. Once the dishes were finished and plated, all the students could do was wait for the panel of judges to offer a ruling.
“I think waiting for the judges was the worst part,” Lowe said. “Because once you put your dish out, there is no turning back or making changes, so you hope it is perfect.”
Judging the competition wasn’t easy. Competition judge Amber Billingsly—Vinto’s pastry chef, named Utah’s best for 2012 by Salt Lake Magazine—was overheard describing one entry as particularly appetizing, but perhaps ill suited to a competition that aimed at finding a dish that college students could make using the ingredients found in their refrigerators.
Though they admitted to being nervous, all three of the competing students masked their nerves well—Lowe behind a fashion-forward pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses.
“Even though I was still a little nervous waiting to hear the judges announce the winner, I had such a good time, and Joy [Tlou] was so good to work with that I wasn’t too worried about the outcome,” Whitlock said of working with the College’s public relations director and culinary enthusiast, Joy Tlou. “I’d already had such a good experience just being in the competition. Joy was so on-the-ball, he knows a lot and really communicated well. I knew we’d done a good job.”
The Whitlock-Tlou team’s salmon salad sandwich was announced the winner. All three dishes were very well received by audience members, who lined up to get a taste after the results were announced. Lowe’s yogurt chicken kabobs, like Whitlock’s salmon sandwiches, were all consumed by passersby, many of whom regarded the 45-minute preparation time as an almost unbearable, possibly deranged Pavlovian experiment.
All three students said the experience was hugely positive for their education in the culinary arts program. “After I complete the culinary program here at the College, I am planning on finding a job in the Salt Lake or Park City area as a chef,” Lowe said. “And later in life, I hope to own a restaurant with my husband.”
Whitlock, too, is eager to make a cooking career his life’s work. “Right now I work at the Cheesecake factory. When I got hired, I told the other chefs, ‘This is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life—cooking food for people,” he said.
Salmon Salad Sandwich with Bacon, Greek Yogurt and Cilantro Dressing and Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad.
8 slices of french bread
1 lb. salmon
1/4 lb. bacon, diced, sauteed to preference
1 small green pepper, diced
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small container Dannon Aikos Greek yogurt
1 bunch cilantro, minced
dill weed
Kosher salt
coarse grind pepper
1.5 limes
zest of 1/4 lime
olive oil
Salmon salad-
Season salmon to taste with dill, salt and pepper on both sides and then cook in a pan with hot oil flipping only 1 time, when the sides of the salmon are completely cooked. When salmon is cooked place into the refrigerator and allow to cool. When salmon is cooled roughly chop leaving some larger pieces.
Dressing-
Juice the limes and add to a bowl. Dice the cilantro and lime zest and add to the bowl. Mix well with the container of yogurt and then toss all of the salad ingredients in the dressing
Tomato Salad-
15 cherry tomatoes
1 T. honey
1 t. red wine vinegar
1 T. olive oil
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
pinch of cayenne
Slice tomatoes 1/8 inch thick and remove seeds and juice. Mix everything else together and then toss tomatoes in dressing. Let sit for 30 minutes and serve.
About the College: Salt Lake Community College is an accredited, student-focused, urban college meeting the diverse needs of the Salt Lake community. Home to more than 62,000 students each year, the College is the largest supplier of workforce development programs in the State of Utah. The College is the sole provider of applied technology courses in the Salt Lake area, with 13 sites, an eCampus, and nearly 1,000 continuing education sites located throughout the Salt Lake valley. Personal attention from an excellent faculty is paramount at the College, which maintains a student-to-teacher ratio of less than 20 to 1.