Chinle students sizzle at cooking contests

Posted by Cindy Yurth | Apr 21, 2016 | Education |

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Chinle High School students (left to right) Ivana Tsosie, Mikell Tso, Jeremy Claw, Alex Yellowman, Alanis Wauneka and Nicholas Billy (not pictured) stacked up awards like pancakes at a series of recent culinary arts competitions.

CHINLE

Six Chinle High School culinary arts students shone in recent competitions, with some nabbing scholarships and even a full-time job at an exclusive resort after graduation.

Mikell Tso hit the jackpot at the Careers in Culinary Arts Program competition, winning a $21,000 scholarship to an acclaimed restaurant school in Philadelphia.

“She really knocked it out of the park” with her meal and pretty folded crepes dessert, said CHS culinary arts instructor Rex Sherry.

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Mikell Tso’s pretty folded crepes captured the judges’ eyes and taste buds.

Tso said the scholarship is perfect for her as she has always wanted to see the eastern side of the country.

Alanis Wauneka will stay closer to home, having been offered a full-time job at the Westin Kierland Resort near Scottsdale, Ariz. after the competition. She was also handed a $3,700 scholarship to help her complete her culinary training.

“The resort has 300,000 square feet of banquet space,” Sherry noted. “Alanis will get top-notch experience, and I’m sure they’ll work with her to allow her to go to school at the same time.”

CHS valedictorian Jeremy Claw, who has already been accepted at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, was awarded a $2,000 scholarship at CCAP.