10 High School Seniors vying for Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire Honors

Who will receive the next gold medal and inherit the title of Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire from Kevin Agra? One of 10 current high school students will be so honored when The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire holds its Best Teen Chef 2009 competition. This year’s winner receives an all expense-paid trip to Charlotte, NC for the national competition, and a chance for a full scholarship. Local first, second and third place winners receive scholarships of up to $3,000.

(SAN BERNARDINO, Calif.) – Ten local high school seniors will show off their culinary expertise Saturday, April 12 as they vie for the honor of Best Teen Chef at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of California-Inland Empire.

Students entering the 2009 contest, and their high schools are Anton Pishchanellsky of Adelanto (Silverado High School, Victorville), Christopher Crawford of Hesperia (Sultana High School, Hesperia), Alex Shaffer of Yucaipa (Yucaipa High School), Ashlee Keane of Highland (Redlands East Valley High School), Brittain Madrid of Fontana (A.B Miller High School, Fontana), Jasmine Cervantes of Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs High School, Moreno Valley), Theresa Marquez of Fontana (Fontana High School), Angelo Cordova of Victorville (Sultana High School, Hesperia), Melissa Meza of Rialto (Eisenhower High School, Rialto) and Briannah Clark of Claremont (Options for Youth, Ontario)

This year, those participating in the Best Teen Chef competition are only half of those who entered. As part of their entry, contestants submitted their own original recipes and a high school transcript. Chef Eyad Joseph, academic director of The International Culinary School, considered the grade-point averages and the quality of these submitted recipes to narrow the field from 20 contestants to 10.

This is the third year The International Culinary School has held the competition, and it has grown each year, to the point this year that The International Culinary School selected 10 finalists from the total of 20 entries.

“This is in part fueled by The International Culinary School’s Passport to a Tasty Future program for high school students, but also reflects the growing popularity of Culinary Arts as a career choice,” said Chef Joseph.

The winner of this annual competition earns a trip to Charlotte, NC on May 9 to compete in a national Best Teen Chef competition sponsored by The Art Institutes. That winner will receive a full-tuition scholarship to the International Culinary School of his or her choice.

“The top prize is worth more than $75,000, which would make a promising culinarian’s dream come true, to one day become a professional chef,” said Chef Joseph. “The process is hard and long but promising for an up and coming culinary student.”

Each student will cook from the same menu, Chef Joseph said. They will demonstrate how well they can use certain basic cooking techniques to make shrimp cocktail, sautéed chicken breast, rice pilaf and broccoli.

The competition is an all-day event, lasting from 8 a.m. to about 4 p.m., Chef Joseph said.

The Art Institutes have sponsored a Best Teen Chef Competition for nine years. The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California-Inland Empire first participated in 2007, a few months after opening its culinary program.

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Game Art & Design, Graphic Design, Web Design & Interactive Media, Interior Design, Fashion & Retail Management, and Media Arts & Animation. It offers an Associate degree in Graphic Design, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Fashion Design.

The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire offers an Associate degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Culinary Management. Each program is offered on a year-round basis, allowing students to work uninterrupted toward their degrees.

It’s not too late to start a new term at The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire. Courses begin April 6 and classes are offered in the day, evening and on weekends for new and reentry students.

For more information, or to arrange a tour, call The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire at (909) 915-2100 or go on line to www.artinstitutes.edu/InlandEmpire .

The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is one of the Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu /InlandEmpire), a system of more than 40 locations throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.
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Who will receive the next gold medal and inherit the title of Best Teen Chef of the Inland Empire from Kevin Agra? One of 10 current high school students will be so honored when The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire holds its Best Teen Chef 2009 competition. This year’s winner receives an all expense-paid trip to Charlotte, NC for the national competition, and a chance for a full scholarship. Local first, second and third place winners receive scholarships of up to $3,000.