Johnson & Wales Announces Winners Of National High School Culinary Challenge

Angelica DeRobles of San Jose, Calif., and Jack Hogan of Portsmouth, N.H., won the grand prize in Johnson & Wales University's National High School Culinary Challenge - Senior Division: a full-tuition scholarship worth more than $80,000 over four years, as well as a private cooking lesson with Food Network star and J&W alumnus Tyler Florence and a tour of the Food Network studios.

The Culinary Challenge was created in 1990 as a way to showcase the talent of high school students and encourage them to follow their dreams in the world of culinary and pastry arts. A total of twenty-one finalists, twelve dinner and nine dessert, traveled to Charlotte this year for the finals. DeRobles' "Chocolate Lava Tamale de el Chichon" and Hogan's "Pan-Roasted Duck Breast, Butternut Squash Risotto, and Maple-Roasted Squash Puree" won over the judges in a very close contest.

Angelica DeRobles
DeRobles' recipe is a chocolate lava cake baked in two cornhusks that are tied together to form the shape of a boat. Judge Gregg Hamm, a J&W alumnus who competed in the 1992 contest and is currently a culinary arts instructor at Lee County Senior High School and Central Carolina Community College, commented on the "unbelievable presentation."

DeRobles started watching the Food Network during her freshman year in high school, and especially enjoyed "Sweet Dreams" with Gail Gand "because she made nothing but sweets, which are my favorite! I started to bake some of the recipes which were featured on her show as well as on other shows. I really enjoyed baking and now know for certain that I want to become a good pastry chef and maybe own a bakery one day."
DeRobles attends Central County Occupational Center and is the student of Michelle Myers. Myers has sent several students to the finals during the 17 years the contest has run; most recently, her student Redmond Cole took second place in the 2004 contest. He currently attends the Denver Campus.

Jack Hogan
Hogan attends Portsmouth High School, where he plays varsity football and lacrosse. He said, "going with a New England theme to my dish, I attempted to incorporate as much local flavor as possible without it being overwhelming. The flavors all had to be simple, and most importantly had to make sense." Obviously, it worked!

Judge and J&W alumnus Andy Husbands, award-winning chef/CEO of Ate Seasons Restaurant Group and author of "The Fearless Chef," commented that the dish was "restaurant quality ... the duck was sublime ... you're hired!" And judge Cary Neff, president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and author of "Conscious Cuisine," agreed that it was a "wonderfully creative use of flavors."

Judges
The following judges scored the recipes on the basis of taste, ease of preparation, presentation and appearance, originality and creativity, as well as the students' skill and neatness in the kitchen:
 Wolfgang Bierer, CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC, a certified American Culinary Federation (ACF) judge and culinary educator.
 Joanne Chang, owner of Boston's award-winning Flour Bakery and contributor to Fine Cooking magazine
 Gregg Hamm, a finalist from the 1992 contest who is currently a culinary arts instructor at Lee County Senior High School and Central Carolina Community College
 Alumnus Andy Husbands, award-winning chef/CEO of Ate Seasons Restaurant Group and author of "The Fearless Chef."
 Cary Neff, president of the consulting firm Culinary Innovations and author of "Conscious Cuisine."
 Kathleen Purvis, food editor of The Charlotte Observer; she traveled to Providence to judge the 2003 contest.
 Dan Scannell, CMC, J&W alumnus, executive chef of the Cherry Hills (Colo.) Country Club and member of the ACF Culinary Teams 2000 and 2004.
 Judith Simon, a Fami