Area High Schoolers Put Scholarship Quest on the Front Burner
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It was a high-stakes cooking competition today at Drexel University among 20 area high schoolers.
It almost looked and sounded like the TV show "Chopped":
"Five minutes left, please. Five minutes!"
...except these budding chefs are competing for thousands of dollars in scholarships to culinary schools.
They get two hours to prepare a poached chicken dish and crêpes with strawberries.
The competition is sponsored by the nonprofit Careers Through Culinary Arts Program ("C-CAP"), which provides scholarships to at-risk students.
" 'Chopped' is great television -- it's sexy and everybody likes watching 'Chopped,' " notes C-CAP president Susan Robbins, "but the students here are very focused."
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Jonnathan Sekel, from the Delaware County Technical School, was one of those focused students. "Two hours to make a poached chicken and a dessert is a lot of time," he said with an air of calm.
The students are judged on safety, sanitation, knife skills, presentation, and -- of course -- taste.
The scholarship winners will be announced next month.
