Photo of Francella Paredes courtesy of the Art Institute.
A Long Beach teenager took home a gold medal and full culinary school scholarship earlier this month at a regional cooking competition hosted by the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California Los Angeles.
Francella Paredes, a senior at Wilson High School, won top honors in the cook-off, which pitted finalists against one another in a timed, two-hour challenge. Paredes prepared and served a two-course meal that consisted of a shrimp cocktail appetizer and an entree of sautéed chicken breast with garnish, rice pilaf and broccoli sauté.
Competitors were judged on five technical skills including knife skills, safety, sanitation, organization, cooking techniques, and clean-up, and five qualities of the finished dishes–temperature, taste, texture, portion size and presentation.
Paredes–who began cooking after watching her mother in the kitchen–won a $4,000 tuition scholarship to The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of California Los Angeles.
Cook-off competitions were held at all participating International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes locations across the U.S. and Canada in March. In addition to earning their scholarship awards, all local Best Teen Chef first place winners will have the opportunity to win a trip to New York City for a very special food experience. National judges will evaluate the materials they submitted to enter the competition and select one national winner.