Start Your Ovens! Best Teen Chef 2009 Competition Set For March 14 at International Culinary School

Kevin Agra, the last winner of the Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire, creates culinary masterpieces at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire. Photo by Robert Swapp.


(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) -- High school seniors, and maybe the next generation of Emerils, Rachaels and Bobbys are getting ready to chop, dice and deglaze their way to winning The International Culinary School at The Art Institutes’ Best Teen Chef 2009 competition www.artinstitutes.edu/btc.

The premier culinary event for aspiring teen chefs, The Best Teen Chef 2009 competition is set for Saturday, May 9 at The International Culinary School of America at The Art Institute of Charlotte, NC. At stake is a full-tuition scholarship worth more than $40,000 and the prestigious title Best Teen Chef.

But to get there, students must first win a local competition on March 14. In the Inland Empire this competition takes place at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

“We are gratified that in the nine years we have sponsored Best Teen Chef, the quantity and quality of the students entering increases,” said Chef Michael Nenes, Assistant Vice President of Culinary Arts for The Art Institutes.

That’s certainly true at The International Culinary School of The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire, which is gearing up for its third year as host of a local competition. In 2008, it had six times as many competitors as the year before.

“Culinary Arts and Culinary Management are popular in the Inland Empire,” said Chef Eyad Joseph, academic director of the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire. “There is a growing appreciation for good food here, and many young people see the value of turning their passion for cooking into a career.”

Hundreds of students from the U.S. and Canada enter the competition each year in hopes of snagging the grand prize and, more importantly, an opportunity to launch their education with a degree in culinary arts.

Kevin Agra, of Alta Loma, the winner of the Best Teen Chef Inland Empire 2008 competition, took advantage of the $3,000 scholarship he received as the local winner, and is now enrolled in the International Culinary School of America at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Agra is a 2008 graduate of Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga.

“I have always loved to cook,” he said. “Now, with the help of my scholarship to The International Culinary School, I will soon work as a chef in a restaurant.”

Agra added that participating in the Best Teen Chef event was in itself a learning experience, especially when he went to the national competition in Las Vegas, where he was pitted against the best teen chefs in the nation.

The Best Teen Chef event is a timed-competition. Student competitors are provided the same ingredients and recipes, and prepare their entries using identical equipment.

Student competitors are judged on organization, taste and presentation. In all, more than $250,000 in tuition scholarships will be awarded.

For more information on Best Teen Chef 2009, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/btc or call (909) 915-2100 or 1-800-353-0812.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Culinary Management, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion Design and Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. There are also Associate of Science degrees in Graphic Design and Culinary Arts. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of more than 40 educational institutions located throughout North America.

For more information or tour, call The Art Institute of California–Inland Empire at 1-800-353-0812 or (909) 915-2100, or visit www.artinstitutes.edu/inlandempire.

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