Students put kitchen creativity to the test

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/01/2012 (5190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a battle for culinary supremacy yesterday as four Assiniboine Community College students squared off in the Manitoba Canola Growers Black Box Competition.

“The students are cooking under a time constraint and they’re feeling the pressure,” Manitoba Institute of Culinary of Arts chef instructor Bryan Hendricks said while competitors carefully boiled, braised and broiled behind him in the kitchen on ACC’s North Hill campus.

Four students — Bev Watt-Mallette, Rylan Lewis, Leah Dueck and Pesila Aropio — were selected to compete in the challenge from a group of 10 students based on a research project they submitted on a canola product of their choice.

The competition followed the format of highly popular Food Network shows such as “Chopped,” where prior to beginning the two-hour cooking competition students were given a group of mystery items that must be included in the two final dishes.

“I didn’t think I was going to get nervous, but the first time we did a black box challenge I didn’t sleep at all the night before,” Watt-Mallette said.

When the buzzer sounded to begin the competition, the students opened their black boxes to reveal pork tenderloin, bacon and chicken breast. From there, the wheels started turning.

“As soon as you find out what the mystery ingredients are going to be, you start thinking about how you can use them,” Watt-Mallette said. “It’s a lot of fun and it really challenges your creativity in the kitchen.”

Watt-Mallette practised in her kitchen at home the night before the competition, trying to simulate the time constraints. She also believed her experience might give her an advantage over her three competitors.

“I’ve cooked with everything,” said the 56-year-old, who has been involved in the food industry for more than 35 years.

“For me, it’s not about winning, it’s just fun to do it. As long as I know I tried my best and done the best that I can, then I’ll be happy.”

Lewis, 25, represented the opposite end of the spectrum when it came to experience in the kitchen, but what he lacked in experience he planned to make up for with passion on his plate.

“It’s something that I really enjoy doing,” Lewis said. “This competition is so much fun. I was a little nervous this morning before I knew what was in the box, but all of the nerves are gone now. As soon as you open the box, you start thinking and coming up with ideas, and the time is always in the back of your mind.”

As the only man in the competition, Lewis said he felt some added pressure to compete with the women in the kitchen and take home the $1,000 scholarship donated by Manitoba Canola Growers.

“I’m a big fan of ‘Iron Chef’ and who knows maybe someday I’ll be the next Food Network star,” Lewis said with a smile. “I like to watch all of those shows before a competition like this because they don’t know what they are getting (on the show) and neither do we. It gives you ideas and inspiration.”

When the stovetops were finally turned off, four judges critiqued the dishes and competitors in a variety of areas including: taste, plating and cleanliness of their cooking station. After the final numbers were tallied it was Aropio who took home the top prize.

The black box challenge was a perfect way to marry the diversity of canola oil with an educational program, said Ellen Pruden, Manitoba Canola Growers’ promotional co-ordinator.

“We believe strongly in education,” Pruden said. “It’s a program that pulls students from all across the province … the people that come to this program at ACC are already familiar with the product and in many cases are growing it on their farm. It builds relationships and connections and we hope these students go out and do great things in the world.”

» ctweed@brandonsun.com