Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice: Culinary Arts Students Dominate at Competition

Lesly Rodriguez, Staff Reporter

Culinary competition season kicked off in early September with a first place Gumbo Cook-off win at the  Medina Lake Cajun Festival, and LEE’s student chefs haven’t taken their foot off the as since.

When Chef Jordan-Davis and six of her advanced students decided that they wanted to compete in this year’s Gumbo Cook-off, they chose one of Ms. Jordan-Davis’s recipes. However, as the team began practicing, they decided to make some improvements, adding things to the gumbo as they felt there was “something missing.” 

There were a total of 20 entrees, however not all were in the same division. The teams entered were sectioned into 3 divisions: Amateur, High school, and Professional. Lee walked away with the fist place trophy and a sense of momentum. “It was so surreal, I couldn’t believe we’d just won,” Ms. Jordan-Davis said. 

Since then, the team has also won a salsa competition and a bread and wine competition, and one member, senior Arantza Ramos Vela, qualified for the state FCCLA competition. Ramos Vela competed using only using two portable burners to prepare a full meal, including sautéed chicken, onions, bell peppers and spinach in a basil cream sauce over fettuccine noodles.  

The team is currently making more plans for future competitions and are excited for what this year still has in store.