Bon Appetit, New London High School! [VIDEO]

The Whaler Café in was abuzz with activity on Wednesday morning as students in the Culinary II class competed to make the best pasta dish.

Three teams made homemade pasta and sauces, sliced and diced ingredients, presented food to judges, and cleaned up their dishes—all in about an hour of class time.

A group of judges, including school officials and community members in the restaurant or food business, judged the dishes based on taste, texture, presentation, and overall quality. The winning team received gift certificates to , which previously participated in the class’s and featured the winning recipe on their menu.

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Jevon Clarke was part of the “Dream Chasers,” a team that chose fried ravioli for their dish. He said he is taking the class this year as an elective. 

“I get a kick out of it,” said Clarke. “There’s a lot of cooking that I never thought I would do. We’re like guinea pigs. We do all kinds of crazy things.”

Jess Fort, part of “The Four Stooges,” helped prepare a shrimp alfredo dish. She said the class contests can be challenging due to the time limit and the number of cooks in the kitchen, but that she likes the way the teams come together to accomplish a goal.

“It’s definitely a lot of teamwork and communication, knowing what to put in and what not to put in,” she said.

Principal Tommie Thompson, one of the judges in the contest, said the class demonstrates valuable qualities such as working together and meeting deadlines.

“You see a lot of life skills working in this kitchen,” he said.

The members of “Team Motivation” whipped up a sauce, chopped garlic, and cooked peas and bacon for their fettuccini alfredo dish.  Raekwon Branch said he hopes to get into cooking when he gets older, and said the students manage to coordinate their efforts to produce dishes on time.

“I think it’s just we go with the flow, and if you have time you can do it,” he said.

The judges had kind words for all of the dishes, but said aspects stood out above others. Luigi Sferrazza, a cook at the Recovery Room and one of the contest’s judges, praised the flavor and texture of Team Motivation’s meal as well as its appearance.

“I think this is a restaurant quality dish,” he said.

Sferrazza said it was a tough decision, but ultimately Team Motivation was named the overall winner. Dream Chasers was named the creative winner for “thinking outside the box” with the ravioli dish.

Traci Planinshek, who teaches the class, said the student prepared the pasta in advance, but that Team Motivation and The Four Stooges managed to make fresh pasta during the competition after they were dissatisfied with the condition of the premade pasta. She said she was proud of the students’ work.

“I wish I could have a competition every day,” she said. “They’re just wonderful.”

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