On Dec. 6, three students from Coral Gables Senior High walked into the kitchen at Miami Dade College Padron Campus. This is what they had been mentally and physically preparing for all week. These students had been expecting a normal school cooking competition. When they arrived, they found it was a much tougher competition then they imagined. Even with the pressure and strong competitors, the Coral Gables team ended up winning first place in this culinary innovation challenge.
This winning team was made up of seniors Camila del Rio, Elizabeth Linder and Jeremiah Abreau. They competed against two other schools, including Homestead and American High School. The level of competition was much tougher than expected, pushing all teams to perform at a high level throughout the event.
The team was chosen for the competition through the school’s Culinary program. All three students had Mr. Flores last year, and this year they have Ms. Vera. After hearing from Flores that the group worked well together, Ms. Vera asked them to represent Gables in this year’s Culinary Innovation Challenge.
“We were surprised how serious the event felt. The competition was really rough and all the teams worked really hard to stand out,” senior Camila del Rio said.
To prepare, Gables’ team practiced every day for a full week before the event. They cooked the required recipes over and over, sometimes two times a day. Their first attempt did not go too well, and del Rio said the original recipe they received from the judges did not work out as well as they expected. Instead of sticking to the complete original recipe, the team worked together to improve the dishes and make them taste better.
“I’m in [the Culinary class} and I can see why they won the challenge. This class really prepares you for real life, teaches important skills and help students grow into great chefs. Obviously they had a lot of preparation, but this class definitely was a significant reason for them being so prepared in the competition,” junior Oliver Ockon said.
The first time they ever made the recipe, it was really bad because they were unfamiliar with the recipes; the gazpacho was originally too spicy and the strawberry parfait needed more sugar. The team followed the recipe, but found out it was not as good when they did that, so the Cavaliers decided to make it better in their own way. They practiced for weeks in advance and studied their recipes. Their preparation also included planning each team member’s role in the kitchen, which later helped them stay organized during the competition.
The menu for the competition was chosen by the chefs and judges, not the students. The team had to prepare three dishes. The dishes were a cold vegetable gazpacho, a chicken marbella served with couscous and a layered strawberry parfait. Del Rio was mainly responsible for dessert and also helped with gathering plates and plating. One teammate focused on chilling ingredients and keeping everything at the right temperature, while the third teammate was in charge of time management and making sure everyone stayed on schedule.
The rules of the competition made everything more intense. Teams had only ten minutes to set up their cooking stations. After that, they had exactly two hours to cook and finish all three dishes. The strict timing forced Gables’ team to stay organized and communicate clearly throughout the whole event. Other teams faced the same strict time limits and pressure, working quickly to stay organized while competing in the same shared kitchen space. This created an intense atmosphere where efficiency and teamwork were essential for everyone involved. They were not aloud to speak to the other teams, so they could not get a full insight of how they were doing.
“I’m really excited our team won. I could see how hard they worked leading up to the competition, and it was amazing to watch them stay calm and focused while everything was happening. The dishes looked incredible, and I know they put so much effort into making them taste perfect. It makes me proud to see our school represented so well, and it’s inspiring to see what teamwork and practice can accomplish,” sophomore Sophie Space said.
When judges reviewed the dishes, they gave the team very positive feedback. Del Rio said the judges were especially impressed by their good time management and strong organization. The moment the team was informed of their victory, the Cavaliers began to tear up with pride, attributing the importance of their win to all of their hours of training and hard work. The team believes the main reason they won was because they were already close friends and had cooked together and formed close bonds for many years prior, making it easier for them to communicate and support each other during this challenge.
“I think cooking is a great program where students can explore new skills that they may not have access to at home. You learn a lot about cooking, baking and helps you later in life when you have to cook for yourself as an adult. It has helped me and these students especially because they won the innovation challenge,” senior Andres Florentino said.
