High school students from underserved communities aspiring to become future celebrity chefs faced a challenge recently from the nationwide 2017 Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) Meatless Monday Recipe Contest. The challenge: create an innovative meatless noodle dish and impress the distinguished panel of judges.
The winner of the Grand Prize Scholarship for $5,000 is Adrian Gonzalez, a 12th grader from Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies for his Three Sisters Stuffed Squash dish. Regional winners received $2,000 scholarships. They come from Arizona, Chicago, Washington, D.C. region, Hampton Roads, VA, New York City, and Philadelphia (see list at end of release).
C-CAP is the national leader providing scholarships, education, and career opportunities in the culinary arts to underserved youth. Meatless Monday encourages people to make positive changes in their diet simply by choosing not to eat meat one day a week. Founded in 2003, Meatless Monday is now a global movement powered by individuals, chefs and restaurateurs, hospitals, schools, and worksites.
“We’re excited to team up with C-CAP for the annual recipe contest. This year, we challenged C-CAP students to convert traditional noodle recipes into meatless versions. The winning recipes are stellar,” said Sid Lerner, founder of the Meatless Monday movement.
“Through this annual contest, student chefs receive guidance from their teachers on recipe writing and development and are able to showcase their talent creating meatless recipes,” remarked C-CAP president Karen Brosius.
Judges evaluated the recipe submissions based on originality, flavor, healthfulness, ease of preparation, and writing ability.
New York-based celeb Chef Maria Loi, one of the 2017 judges said, “It’s my pleasure to evaluate these recipes and students — they are the culinary future!”
Loi is the global ambassador of Greek gastronomy, elected by the Chef’s Club of Greece, executive chef of Loi Estiatorio, author, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Also on the judging panel are Chef Matthew Kenney, recognized as a pioneer in raw, plant-based cuisine; Jet Tila, international culinary storyteller, Royal Thai culinary ambassador, chef/owner of Pakpao Thai in Dallas, and Diana Rice, RD, consulting recipe editor for Meatless Monday.
Regional winners of $2,000 scholarships:
ARIZONA
Austin Neanover, 12th Grade
Glendale High School
Spicy Spaghetti with Roasted Vegetables
CHICAGO
Azary Madrigal, 12th Grade
Curie Metropolitan High School
Avocado Pasta
WASHINGTON, D.C. REGION
Devyn Shannon, 12th Grade
Charles Herbert Flowers High School
Spicy Coconut Penne
HAMPTON ROADS,VA
Cashé Clark, 12th Grade
Virginia Beach Technical and Career Center
Rainbow Pad Thai
NEW YORK, NY
Brayden Boscio, 12th Grade
Harry S. Truman High School
Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Tomato Mushroom Ragu and Wilted Spinach
PHILADELPHIA
Lauren Moore, 11th Grade
A.Phillip Randolph Career Academy
Pasta Primavera
Links to winning recipes:
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/recipes/three-sisters-stuffed-squash/
https://ccapinc.org/2017-nationwide-c-cap-meatless-monday-recipe-competition/
Link to video of top chefs and C-CAP president Karen Brosius and founder Richard Grausman talking about Meatless Monday:
