First Prize ‘Chopped Yonkers’ Winners!
On Saturday, April 21st, the Second Annual “Chopped Yonkers” event took place at Nepperhan Community Center in Yonkers, NY. The event went off without a hitch. Well, except maybe the fact that the electricity blew a few times. But, nothing stopped us. Thank you to our phenomenal judges, Yonkers’ very own, Peter Kelly, owner of Xaviars on the Hudson, Chef Kate Adamick, owner of Food Systems Solutions® LLC and co-founder of Cook for America®, and Chef Jesse Jones, owner of Chef Jesse Jones Cuisine Catering! The students really worked diligently to show off their skills with the secret ingredient – ‘lemons’. The event was a twist on Food Networks’ Chopped and Iron Chef America shows. The first-prize Riverside students will experience a weekend internship in Peter Kelly’s restaurant, Xaviars on the Hudson. Also, CONGRATULATIONS to Mikaela Jackson, a committed Roosevelt High School senior who has been a part of the after-school culinary program since its inception, who was surprised with a full scholarship to The Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In the last newsletter, I explained how competition (and dedication) will help students navigate successfully through school and in life. Chef Kate summed it up best when she made the following two statements: 1. The judges’ role is to encourage you to continue to do better and strive to do more and; 2. Competition is not about being or doing better than other people, it’s about doing better than you did before. It’s never about anyone else, but yourself. Among all the fun had by all, I hope the lessons were learned. There will be video of the event to follow very soon. Stay tuned!
