Four High School Students Awarded Free Tuition at First-Ever Cooking Competition

Twenty aspiring high school chefs put their culinary skills to the test to win a free semester at Conestoga College.

Conestoga College’s School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts hosted its first-ever culinary competition on October 24 showcasing the talent of local high school students.

The event provided an opportunity for teens to show off their skills and compete for the grand prize: a full year’s tuition valued at approximately $4,500. Four students won the grand prize with an overall value of approximately $16,000.

Winners of the culinary competition

Abby Renner and Tristan Palin won in the culinary category and Bridgit Kleinboeck and Brodie Oliver won in the baking category. Every student participating was presented with a knife set from Canada Cutlery, Conestoga’s cutlery supplier and event sponsor. SmartServe also sponsored the competition.

“I think this is an amazing prize,” Renner said. “I’m just so grateful to this competition and to Conestoga.”

Learn more about the culinary competition

Eleven student teams competed from high schools throughout the region, six in the culinary category and five in baking, allowing for two winners in each section. Culinary students were required to present four dishes — chicken, soup, risotto, and caesar salad — and also had to properly debone a chicken before cooking it.

Baking students crafted bread and a variety of petit fours (a small French dessert, known for its complexity and uniform presentation). Prepared dishes were judged on taste, technique, cleanliness, and teamwork.

Competition meant to raise awareness of pathways in the hospitality and culinary field

“Removing a barrier like tuition has enabled students who may not have the means to pursue post-secondary education to reassess their opportunities,” said Brad Lomanto, chair of the School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts, and Institute of Food Processing Technology. “This initiative aims to provide those students with an incredible opportunity and to raise awareness about the diverse pathways and opportunities within the hospitality and culinary field.”

The competition provided the community with an incredible opportunity to reach out to potential bakers and chefs. “I want to become a professional chef, and I feel like this is a really great stepping stone,” Palin said.

Awards were presented at Conestoga’s student-run restaurant, Bloom, which recently won the 2024 Green Leadership Award from Kostuch Media Ltd., publisher of Foodservice and Hospitality and Hotelier magazines. The award recognizes Bloom’s environmental practices, including becoming the first restaurant in Canada to display greenhouse gas emissions information on its menu.