BHCC Student Wins S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef New England Competition
Friday, February 13, 2009
BHCC culinary arts’ student Erik Powers won one of the most prestigious student awards in the world of haute cuisine: The S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef New England Competition. The other student competitors represented at the event came from some of the most renowned schools of culinary arts in the region, including: New England Culinary Institute, Johnson & Wales University and Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
BHCC was the only community college in this year’s New England competition. S. Pellegrino, the sparkling water producer, has sponsored this competition over the past seven years to find the next generation of leading chefs in the nation.
Powers, accompanied by BHCC Professor George Kelley, prepared the winning dish Thursday, February 5th at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, site of the competition. Powers cooked pan-seared, guanciale-wrapped cod, fingerling potato salad, maple-balsamic reduction and golden-beet beurre blanc. “We wanted good, New England flavors,” said Powers, whose job outside of school is in the kitchen of Chef Barbara Lynch’s nationally renowned No. 9 Park restaurant in Boston.
In addition to winning the regional competition, the BHCC student will also be allowed to compete for a $10,000 cash prize and a one-year job working for one of the top chefs in the United States. Both Powers and Professor Kelley will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the finals in California at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone.
“It was an exciting moment when they announced the winner,” said Mary Beth W. Barton, professor and chair of the BHCC Hospitality Department. “I have never been more proud of a BHCC student and Professor Kelley. He spent hours of his own time coaching Erik to prepare him for the competition.”
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).