On December 1st, students at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School put their creative cooking skills to work to compete in VASJ's very own Iron Chef Competition. Six student groups competed, cooking dishes that were presented to a panel of judges comprised of local culinary experts, including Ruth Levine from Bistro 185, Mark Moster from Pickwick & Frolic, Matt Taylor from Sysco, Bobby Bennett, a chef, and VASJ's own Samantha Meyer.  

Student teams were given an hour and thirty minutes to prepare 2 dishes. Each dish had to contain a protein such as chicken, shrimp or catfish, a starch, and a vegetable.               

There was a wide array of dishes, ranging from Louisiana Catfish, prepared by Jocelyn Abron and Cynthia Catcher, to Chicken Prosciutto Lasagna by Chantelle Jones, Bre’Anna Powers and Jasmine Wallace.

Dishes were judged primarily  by taste and presentation. Colors, textures, shapes, and ingredient repetition were also taken into consideration. Six dishes entered, and in the end, it was Diamond Ivey, Tiffany Butler, and Briana Journee, with their dishes of Lemon Garlic Shrimp Skewers, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Green beans, and Lemon Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli, who came out victoriously.               

Each group had different strategies and brought different talents to the table, and all admitted that excelling in the kitchen isn't as easy as it looks on television.

“We didn’t think it would be as hard as it was,” said participants Abria Houser and Vincent Smith. "We appreciate chefs in restaurants more because of this experience."