SEAFORD, Del. - Recently crowned state champions at Seaford High School are prepping for a national competition. The culinary program’s management team consists of 4 students who were recently ranked the best in Delaware. Chef Christine Longo says her class has molded like family over the course of the program.
“The year before we had come in second and it was bittersweet, so we made sure this year that we really worked for it and when they called Seaford as a first place team it was amazing,” says Longo.
The classroom doubles as a dining room and is where students develop recipes and learn about the culinary industry. This will be the first national competition for the Seaford culinary program, so Longo and her students are bringing all of the feedback they got from State’s to the table.
”We’re making the corrections," says Longo. "It’s going to be a lot of hours of preparation or critical thinking, just going over the questions or other questions just time and time again." Most of the culinary students only have class every other day and some event practice after school for the competition. Throughout the school year they develop their skills on the equipment in the career area's kitchen and some even deliver lunches to teachers. Justin Bazon is chef Longo’s first in command in the cafe and he helped come up with the menu.
“We had Hawaiian theme so we wanted to basically make something completely different, something that would be unique out of everyone else’s dishes,” says Bazon.
The management team worked for a little over a month to come up with a business plan and practice critical thinking questions. The students chose to open up shop in a strip mall, a layout they determined to be the most challenging.
“There’s Limited parking," says Yessica Galvez. "We had a side patio. City restrictions won’t allow all year round seating.”
“The strip mall had to be under maintenance every now and then,” says Rodrigo Galaviz. After selling this restaurant plan to the judge at State’s, the team can’t wait for the national completion to heat up. Nationals will be held in Washington, D.C. May 8th-10th. Chef Longo says her students are shooting for a top ten finish as they have a chance to win scholarships if they place high enough.