CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Friday, May 5, in Aromas Café at Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College, two student chefs competed in the Future Chefs of Lake County cooking competition.

Joel Atkins and Jessica Bateman-Gonzalez cooked for 90 minutes to prepare a wonderful meal for the judges. 

Atkins prepared southern-style chicken cordon bleu served on yellow grits and Bateman-Gonzalez prepared a Deconstructed Chicken Pozole.

The judges were Chef Jay Marshal from Sysco, Dr. Judy Luchsinger from Lake County Wine Alliance and Dr. Michael White from Woodland Community College. 

They interfaced with the young future chefs, deliberated over the food served to them, and eventually chose the deconstructed chicken pozole that Bateman-Gonzalez had prepared for them as the winner of the competition.

The Culinary Club hosted the competition and the event was both a fundraiser to raise funds for future scholarships as well as a wonderful way to give away scholarships to the contestants.

Bateman-Gonzalez won a $1,000 scholarship and Atkins won a $500 scholarship.

The guests who attended the competition were delighted with local wines paired with exquisite food prepared by the culinary arts students. 

A flight of wine, 3 ounces each, was served to those in attendance. The wines that were donated for the event came from Six Sigma who donated a Sauvignon Blanc, Gregory Graham who donated a Grenache, and R Vineyards who donated a Reba Red. 

Along with the wine, the students had prepared a Dungeness crab salad canapé, gruyere and duck confi sliders and lacquered pork belly.

To celebrate the end of the competition, the culinary students served a delicious passion fruit curd tartlet and dark chocolate mousse cups paired with a Lady of the Lake Pear Sparkling Wine or a Fults Family Vineyard Blanc de Blanc.

The event highlighted all that the students have learned throughout their culinary arts education and the presentation, the food, the service showcased a top quality restaurant atmosphere that is hard to find around the county of Lake.

For those interested in pursuing an education in culinary arts, make sure to apply to Woodland Community College in Clearlake at 15880 Dam Road Extension, call and make an appointment with one of their counselors at 707-995-7900, or find more information about the campus and their programs at http://lcc.yccd.edu .

Summer session starts on June 12 and Fall semester starts on Aug. 14.