Three teams of Eva's culinary students faced off in a “chopped” style cooking contest sponsored by Kontos Foods, a Paterson-based Mediterranean food company. Each team competed to present two sweet and two savory dishes using Kontos’ pre-baked, bite-sized pastry puffs.
Teams drew inspiration from cuisines as varied as the students’ backgrounds: the American South; the Caribbean; the Middle East; and South America.
"Our students' diversity brings out flavors from all over the place,
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noted Chef James Cwynar, the Culinary School's Director.
While some entries stood out - puffs stuffed with lamb dipped in tzatziki sauce; deep fried puffs filled with chicken pot pie; dessert puffs with pineapple and mango and others topped with pralines or spun-sugar birds’ nests - the judges agreed that the contest was too close to call; they declared all 27 students winners, awarding them personalized chef’s jackets.
