Chicken and steak were on the menu last week during Manna soup kitchen’s cooking competition, which marked the end of the nonprofit’s four-week teenage culinary program.
Students split into two teams and put their kitchen skills to the test on Aug. 7. Through the program, they learned safe knife usage, how to professionally clean a kitchen and commercial kitchen communication, in addition to team work, resume building and other essential skills in the restaurant and hospitality industries.
Although only one team ‒ Sydney O’Bannon, Jon Gonzales and Dylan Reynolds ‒ was formally declared the victor, every student had a winner’s attitude after all was said and done. Each student said they’d recommend the program to others.
Parker Hughes, 14, said he’s taken the program before and he loved taking it again because it served as a refresher and he tried out new recipes this time. He found making french fries and other fried bites ‒ okra, pickles and chicken ‒ with the deep fryer was a fun experience.
Hughes currently works at Durango Diner, although not as a cook or chef.
After the competition, Gonzales said both teams performed well and he couldn’t decide whose dish was better.
His experience through the program was fulfilling. When he started the program, he was nervous because he didn’t know anyone, he said. But he quickly learned the value of communication.
“You have to know what everybody’s doing,” he said.
He learned call-outs to alert others in the kitchen he was carrying a hot pan or a sharp knife. He would say “heard” to acknowledge another’s call-out.
Working in a commercial kitchen requires focus and keeping up with what everyone is doing while staying on top of one’s own task, he said.
Judges included Susie Hopkins, longtime Manna kitchen volunteer; Kaye Berman, Manna volunteer and board member; and Patrick Fredricks, interim executive director for the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative, which helped support Manna’s teenage culinary program.
Berman said judges had a hard time deciding which team’s plate was better. She said both meals were excellent and restaurant-quality and thanked the students for the meals.
“These were fantastic. There’s no way I would ever get to a place where I could do this,” Fredricks said. “And you did this in four weeks. So congratulations. Be really proud of yourselves.”
Hopkins said both teams did “fabulous” jobs and she struggled to find anything wrong with either’s plates.
Berman said the judges were able to discern flavors: the steak was “absolutely perfectly cooked,” and student Dylan Reynolds, 14, impressively broke down chicken into its parts and cooked it to perfection.
Fredricks said it was challenging not to cut into the meals as soon as they were presented, but the judges were tasked with judging the plates based on presentation as well as taste and quality. He enjoyed the colors and brightness involved in the plates.
Hopkins said she observed one student telling her teammates to “face the flower forward,” and she appreciated the attention to detail, noting it makes a difference in overall presentation.
“I just love watching them blossom and come out of their shell,” said Megan Feuerbacher, Manna culinary manager. “Yesterday, at the end of the day, they were playing Pictionary just for fun. They all have inside jokes now.
She tested the students on all the skills they were developing before the competition. They excelled. They prepared and worked their blocks and cleaned as they went with very little instruction, she said.
Chef and program coach Regan Briggs said the students proved open-minded and passionate about food and cooking.
The program teaches commercial kitchen fundamentals and solid basic life skills, preparing students for real hospitality jobs.
