TOP STUDENT
Preparation meets opportunity for the 2011 Student Chef of the Year.
By Linda Rosner, CEC
davesmithphotographer.com
I SERVE on the committee that
chooses which students should represent
the Central Region at the state level.
Following students to the regional
conferences and then the national
convention, where one will be named
Student Chef of the Year, is an exciting
journey that I am privileged to take with
these fine young cooks. This year at the
final competition, I found four finalists who
were accomplished in many areas.
Chef of the Year while cooking for troops in
battle, serving thousands at a time.
Representing the Northeast Region, Caitlin
Sive has not only won culinary awards on
junior hot-food teams, but is an award-winning rower. She cooked with her mother
as a child, and knew by age 13 that she
wanted to pursue a career as a chef.
that course in college, he chose
culinary school at the suggestion of a
relative. Astounded by the amount of
biology and chemistry involved in the
culinary arts, he has applied the kind of
discipline and hard work they demand
to his cooking.
The National Culinary Review | September 2011
74
During the competition, each student
had a cheering section, barely breathing
as they watched the race to finish well-practiced routines.
Ghil Medina, who represented the Western
Region, serves in the U.S. Air Force, where
his honors include being named Airman of
the Quarter in 2008, as well as Junior and
Senior Chef of the Quarter in 2007 and
2009, respectively. He made history by
qualifying as a finalist for the 2011 Student
Keith Schwock from the Southeast Region
also realized his dreams at an early age,
tending his own garden from the age of 7,
and expanding his palate over the years and
into his first restaurant job at age 14.
Aaron Guajardo III of the Central
Region has a natural talent for math
and science, but rather than pursuing
Members of Medina’s battalion were
present, including his commanding
officer, and they beamed with pride at his
professional deportment. He incorporated
as many skills as possible into his menu,
which reflected his Asian heritage.
