By DEB BENTLY
Staff Writer
“I’m excited to see how we do in competition,” commented NRHEG Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS) teacher Kelly Delacruz.
Delacruz makes this observation because she feels the 10 students she took to the “Stars of the Future” event on December 10 represented themselves and the school district exceptionally well. NRHEG was one of 11 schools which brought participants to the $100-a-person event held in Coon Rapids. Money raised will be used by the sponsoring organization, Hospitality Minnesota, toward helping Minnesota’s winning culinary team travel to national competition next April in Baltimore, Maryland.
NRHEG will be sending two teams to the Minnesota invitational in March to vie for the national trip.
Delacruz makes the observation that on December 10, as hospitality leaders from around the state mingled and sampled foods made by the various teams, NRHEG ran out of food, “some others…didn’t,” she says.
Her teams had made more than the recommended number of servings for their two dishes–a coconut cake ball and a chicken/artichoke appetizer.
“Some of the other dishes just weren’t as appealing,” she says.
NRHEG juniors Erik Nelson and Jace Irhke will be members of one of the two five-person competition teams vying for the state title. Both feel they learned quite a bit by taking part in the Dec. 10 showcase.
“People just want good food,” said Nelson, observing that some other teams seemed to have chosen their dishes in an effort to impress. “What matters is whether you enjoy what you’re eating.”
Both said they found the mood at the event friendly and collaborative. It was not a competition, and any feedback given regarding the dishes served was incidental. The two mentioned tasting a wide variety of sample-sized dishes, including chicken tacos, homemade tortillas, oreo cheesecake, mini Russian pancakes and shrimp.
“In some cases it would have been better if they hadn’t tried to make it ‘too’ fancy,” said Ihrke.
As the ProStart teams prepared for “Stars of the Future,” they performed as much work in advance as possible, then used portable cooking devices to be sure food was at a safe temperature.
“I think everything went great,” said Nelson. “We learned a lot that will help us in competition.”
Delacruz mentions having made connections which will probably help the NRHEG program as it continues. She met a number of chefs who expressed an interest in mentoring the students. She said she was also pleased to see her students getting to know other students interested in the food service and hospitality career field.