College Culinary Competition Earns Warsaw Resident A Scholarship
College Culinary Competition Earns Warsaw Resident A Scholarship
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Jackie Gorski-jgorski@timesuniononline.com
College Culinary Competition Earns Warsaw Resident A ScholarshipDuring a November culinary competition, Warsaw resident Andrew Mendez became the first recipient of a new scholarship at his college.
During the 2022 American Culinary Federation (ACF) Annual Sanctioned Competition Nov. 5, Mendez, a second-year culinary arts student at Baker College’s Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) in Muskegon, Mich., won the first Mark Heaton Scholarship.
Heaton, who died in 2020, was a Baker College enrollment special projects director.
Mendez said he was awarded a $500 scholarship because of his positive attitude, work ethic and being a team player. He said the scholarship was awarded on the side on the same day of the competition. He didn’t even know he was getting the scholarship. The competition was going on all day and he was helping out making sure everything was clean.
Mendez heard a speech over the intercom system about Heaton and everything he did for the school. Then it was announced a scholarship in Heaton’s name was going to be awarded to a student who had dedication for their family, community and friends and Mendez’s name was called out.
“I was speechless when I got it. It’s just amazing that my efforts are being noticed and just shows hard work pays off,” he said. “I was really excited about that.
November’s competition was Mendez’s third competition. In his first competition, he received a gold medal and in his second competition, he received a silver medal. In November’s medal, not only did Mendez receive the first Mark Heaton Scholarship, he also won a silver medal.
During the American Culinary Federation Annual Sanctioned Competition, he said students make menu items. There’s different categories students could compete in, such as cake decorating, chocolate-plated desserts or table service.
Mendez said he competed in the hot-plated food category. He said he focuses more on Latin food because of his heritage, as he’s half Guatemalan and half El Salvadorean. He said he wanted during the competition, he wanted his food to represent him on a dish.
He said it was interesting to get judged and get feedback during the competition from “different powerhouses.” Judging was based on taste, plating techniques and making sure the competitor isn’t cross-contaminating food while preparing.
Mendez said he was able to see his growth during November’s competition and was able to pair food better than in past competitions.
After graduation, his goal to work under different chefs and gain experience. After that, if he has the opportunity to open his own business, he will.
