Massanutten Technical Center in Harrisonburg was the overall winner of the “Young Chef Challenge: cooking Up Your Career Through DSLCC”, held March 13 at the DSLCC Rockbridge Regional Center in Buena Vista. From left: Debra Bonts, culinary instructor at Massanutten; DSLCC President Dr. Richard Teaff; Homestead Executive Chef Sean O’Connell. The event is co-sponsored by DSLCC and The Homestead Resort.

'Young Chef Challenge' Features Regional High School Culinary Students   Over 100 area and regional high school culinary arts students competed in the third annual “Young Chef Challenge: Cooking Up Your Career Through DSLCC”, co-hosted by The Homestead Resort and Dabney S. Lancaster Community College at the DSLCC Rockbridge Center in Buena Vista on March 13. Massanutten Technical Center in Harrisonburg was the overall winner for the day, placing first in both the “Taste of Virginia” competition, as well as the Knowledge Bowl. In “Taste of Virginia”, students prepared original culinary creations made with local ingredients. Placing second and third, respectively, in that category were Bath County High School and Valley Vocational Technical Center (Valley VoTech) in Augusta County. Teams participating in the Knowledge Bowl were asked questions about nutrition, cooking and sanitation. Winning second and third in the Knowledge Bowl were teams from Valley VoTech and Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (Catech). The third category was the cook-off, in which teams of 4 students prepared a meal in a timed contest. Winning that competition was the team from Bath County High School. Placing second and third, respectively, were Valley VoTech and Catech. The Homestead chefs made presentations during the day to the students’ delight: Sean O’Connell, Executive Chef; David Moran, Banquets Chef; and Michel Finel, Pastry Chef, assisted by Adam Plecker, former DSLCC Culinary Arts student. They prepared sushi with tuna, as well as chocolate and strawberry-covered cheesecake. Serving as judges were O’Connell and Moran; Kevin Phenengar, director of Food and Beverage; Phil McManus, DSLCC Culinary Arts program head; Gloria Lawrence, Massage Therapy program head, and DSLCC Culinary Arts student Rebekah Pete; Maggie Anderson, Bath County Tourism Director; Jean Clark, Lexington/Rockbridge Tourism Development Office; Brian Brown, City of Buena Vista Economic Development Director; Todd Cook, Regional Coordinator of Apprenticeship Training for the Virginia Department of Labor. Also attending the event as observers were students from Jackson River Technical Center, from Alleghany County and Covington. DSLCC President Dr. Richard Teaff and Homestead Executive Chef O’Connell presented the trophy to overall winner Massanutten, represented by culinary instructor Debra Bonts.

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