The Iron Chefs of South Forsyth High School

Student chefs from turned on the heat during the Culinary Cook-Off at Gwinnett Technical College on Friday.

The school won first place in both the Culinary Arts and ProStart Management competition.  

"In all the years I've run this competition, this is the first year one school has won both the culinary and management competitions, said Lee Gray, executive director of the Hospitality Education Foundation of Georgia (HEFG), a non-profit foundation. “South Forsyth's students have been working with chefs, other teachers and practicing very hard for years. Every year they learned and improved. This has been an incredible journey and it isn't over yet. I'm very proud of them."

In addition to receiving medals and scholarships (awarded to all participating students), SFHS was presented with a traveling trophy and will represent Georgia at the National Invitational in Kansas next month.

The HEFG welcomed 200 aspiring Top Chefs to compete with one another. The competitors were made up of teams of high school juniors and seniors from schools across Georgia. Teams took part in either the ProStart Management or Culinary Arts Competition.

Students participating in the ProStart Management competition had to come up with an idea for a restaurant, according to Kerri Crean, program director for Gwinnett Tech’s Culinary Arts program. Teams were judged on menu, cost analysis, restaurant blueprints, design and marketing plans.

The Culinary Arts Competition featured teams of five from high schools throughout the state required to do several tasks “Iron Chef” style. In one hour, student chefs had to butcher a chicken, demonstrate five knife cuts and prepare a three-course meal. To make the competition interesting, teams had to do the tasks without access to electricity or running water.

The teams were judged by a prestigious panel of chefs from country clubs, colleges, restaurants and hotels, along with representatives from Georgia hospitality and restaurant associations.

“There are more components in this competition, and the judges are pickier,” said Robert Schley, an instructor from Westover High School, who traveled to the competition with his team from Albany. Schley said they won the regional competition in South Georgia.

In addition to the awards South Forsyth High School received, the team, along with the second place winners, will get a chance to show off their skills at the Taste of Atlanta event in October.

Liz Kennedy contributed to this article.