Award Winning Chefs

Jake Floto, Becca Grant and Alex Mehaffey may consume cafeteria food, but when it comes to preparing it themselves their tastes are more gourmet. The three, who are enrolled in culinary courses at the school, placed fifth out of 120 teams in the Pro Start Gourmet Meal competition held in Orlando in March, and each won a $7,000 scholarship for their achievement.

The three served an appetizer of bacon wrapped scallops over spinach. For the main course, they served grilled lamb with lemon, sautéed squash, and rosemary-roasted potatoes. And for dessert, bananas foster parfait.

"I told them about the competition, and they took the initiative to create a team," said Joy Maynard, their culinary arts teacher.

"I have wanted to be a chef since I was 6," said Mehaffey, a junior, "so I thought being in the competition would be a great idea."

The fifth-place win was unexpected to each member of the team, as well as the teacher.

"They were against adult and technical schools where they cook every day," said Maynard. "My classes only cook once a week."

The students had exactly one hour to create their food and make it presentable for the judges.

"We finished just in time," said Grant, a senior. "It was very hectic, but Jake is a great leader and he kept us all together."

The competition was an eye opener for the students.

"I didn't expect top five," said Floto, also a senior, "It really changed the way I thought about cooking, and it showed me new cooking styles and techniques."

They all agree the best part was the end.

"None of us really expected the fifth place win," said Grant, a senior. "It was so shocking."

"The announcer actually had to ask if Jake was OK," said Mehaffey.

By winning the scholarships, the three will now have less stress in preparing for college. All of them plan on attending culinary school in the future.

"The best part of cooking is being able to create something from nothing," said Floto.

That is exactly what these three students did and in the process they have gone from regular students to award-winning chefs. They competed with some of the top schools from around the state of Florida and still came out in the top five.

"All of us were amazed," said Mehaffey. "Fifth place was really shocking."

"Win or lose, we all walked away with something," said Floto. "A lot of great experience and money for college."