(Portland, OR) – Four of Oregon’s best high school culinary teams battled in a contest of gastronomic wits for the first-ever Junior Iron Chef Oregon title this past weekend in Portland during The Bite of Oregon at Waterfront Park, while standing-room only spectators looked on at these junior chefs demonstrating their prowess in the kitchen. The crowds were not disappointed, as McKay High School from Salem took home the prestigious title of Junior Iron Chef Oregon, producing in the final round an entrée featuring seared pork tenderloin complemented with Dijon cream sauce, topped off by a shitake-mushroom couscous cake and a leek-tied carrot bundle.

McKay High School came into the Junior Iron Chef competition with a specific agenda and something to prove… they had come in second back in April at the State ProStart culinary championships to Bend High School’s first place. Students on the McKay team were chomping at the bit to have a little culinary justice.

Indeed, the competition was fierce, with the first round of competitors impatiently waiting to take the stage as event organizers hurried to put everything in their final place before the round began.

Tillamook County Schools Hospitality Program came in second place, with students William Flores, Heather Cramer and Tyler Casiano showing leadership in covering for a teammate that was not able to be at the competition at the last minute. The students didn’t even blink as they smoothly and efficiently executed their meal under the watchful gaze of the judges.

“I thought it went really well, and in my opinion, ‘Iron Chef’-type competitions are a big step up for the students, which allow them to apply what they have learned, under a time constraint and with people watching. It is a huge leap in performance standards. I admired the poise and the professionalism in all of the student teams,” said Tillamook instructor Carolyn Nyquist.

All rounds of the ProStart contest required students to produce two identical entrée meals using the ingredients at their disposal from a pantry provided by the competition sponsor, SYSCO Food Services of Portland within the allotted 45-minute cooking time, and then present their final product to a panel of judges.

Each team was given just fifteen minutes to prepare their cooking utensils and gather their ingredients for the challenge. Then, just before their cooking rounds began, a protein was revealed to the teams, which then set the competition off on a fast and furious pace. Students from Tillamook County Schools Hospitality Program, and Bend, Taft, McKay High Schools were placed in two semi-final rounds using a random draw, and the winners of each of the semi-final rounds advanced to the finals. Bend High School took third place, and Taft High School from Lincoln City placed fourth.

“We truly are excited at the level of skill and dedication to their craft that these students exhibited,” said state ProStart Director Dawn Tryon, who runs the ProStart Program and is the event planner for the state competition. “This is a testament to how much industry and education are working together to help develop the future workforce of the hospitality industry- it sure looks bright!”

ProStart is a two-year program by the Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation that teaches students culinary fabrication skills, safety, sanitation, marketing, management and accounting. In addition to the classroom time, ProStart students also complete a 400-hour paid worksite experience which takes the learning from the classroom and makes it applicable in the “real world” for youth. Students who complete the program earn a national certificate, are eligible for a $2,000 national scholarship, and in some cases, can earn college credit in hospitality or culinary-related programs.

About The Bite of Oregon

From the rocky headlands of the coast to the rugged canyons of the east, The Bite of Oregon provides a stunning summertime celebration of the extraordinary bounty of our State. Culinary delights, excellent wines, and non-stop entertainment, The Bite has been an Oregon tradition for 23 years. The state's largest culinary festival, The Bite of Oregon occupies more than three blocks of Portland's idyllic Waterfront Park on the banks of the Willamette River. The Bite of Oregon is produced by Special Olympics Oregon as a fundraising event. Special Olympics Oregon is a year-round program offering 15 different Olympic-style sports to athletes with intellectual disabilities. Visit www.biteoforegon.com for more information on The Bite of Oregon, or www.soor.org for the latest on Special Olympics Oregon.

Contact:
Dawn Tryon, State ProStart Director
Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation
503-682-4422
dawn@orefoundation.org

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The Oregon Restaurant Education Foundation (OREF) is the leading education resource for the greater hospitality industry in Oregon, which is comprised of over 9,000 restaurant and foodservice outlets, 2,100 lodging facilities, a work force of over 133,000 employees, and a total economic impact of $13 billion - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. OREF works to educate, train, and promote the rapidly growing industry. For more information, visit our website at www.orefoundation.org.