The Tribune

ASPIRING chef Cordell Wells, a 10th grader at the NGM Major High School in Long Island, was crowned the winner of the National All-Island Senior Young Chef competition.

Cordell is the third student from NGM Major to win this national contest, following Denece Adderley in 1998 and Rhonda Major in 1995 and 1997.

Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education, and Frank Comito, executive vice president of the Bahamas Hotel Association, both addressed and congratulated all the participants.

In winning the 2013 overall senior championship, Cordell scored 458.5 points for “Yuma Pulled Mutton in a Pumpkin Crawfish Rice Mold with Vinaigrette Coleslaw” and 471.5 points for the Best Robin Hood Flour dish, “Molten Chocolate Fruit Surprise with Coconut Cream Anglaise and Whipped Cream Topping”.

Placing second overall was Luciano Simmons of Eight Mile Rock High School, Grand Bahama, with 454 points for “Mahi Mahi Rice Patty served with Pumpkin Soup” and 458.5 points for “Island Savory Cupcake Trio”.

Third place went to Taneisha Rolle of CR Walker, with 411.5 points for “Bahama Chocolate Lava Cake” and 463.5 points for her “Spicy Coconut Conch Jambalaya with Bahama Seafood Sausage” – awarded the “Best Mahatma Rice Dish”.

Helena Hepburn of San Salvador High placed 4th with 826.5 points for “Irresistible Tropical Pumpkin Cake with Strawberry Blueberry Cream cheese Sauce” and “Mouth Watering Rice Bowls with Salmon and Vegetable Stir fry”.

In addition to medals, the National Young Senior Chef winners received cash prizes of $1,500 (1st), $750 (2nd), $300 (3rd) and $200 (4th) from Mahatma Rice and Robin Hood Flour, the sponsors of the competition.

Additional scholarship prizes were awarded to Cordell Wells and Luciano Simmons. Lincoln College of Technology awarded them $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships respectively.

Contest judge Chef Edwin Johnson, who has been with the competition since it’s inception 21 years ago, said: “This year I have seen tremendous improvement in the quality of product produced by all of the students. Good skills were demonstrated as relates to organisation, cooking skills, calmness, menu and recipe presentation and compilation with more attention paid to sanitation. We’ve also seen more use of indigenous products – items like noni, hibiscus flowers, rice to make drinks and conch made into sausage.

“More technique and cooking skills are being used to secure the nutritional value of food.”

Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald, on hand to distribute the awards, said: “I congratulate and encourage you students to seriously consider the career opportunities in the culinary and hospitality management fields especially with the Baha Mar project scheduled to be completed soon and which will seek to hire hundreds of chefs and cooks for their kitchens.”