Watertown Native Competes in Chef Competition

Eight budding chefs from New England culinary schools showed off their craft at the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition hosted by Bunker Hill Community College, earlier this month, including Watertown resident and BHCC student Patricia Whalen.

The participants hailed from Johnson & Wales, Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, New England Culinary Institute and BHCC competed for a chance to participate in a national contest held in Napa Valley, Calif.

Among all the commotion of press snapping pictures, guests admiring the dishes and her fellow competitors trying to finish last minute detail, one young woman disappeared from the crowd. Entering the kitchen, she wiped her knives, put them in her case and stood for a minute, maybe contemplating the magnitude of the moment.

Only giving herself but a minute to breathe, she headed back out to the bustling room with a vulnerable smile, one filled with nervousness and exhaustion. Small and slender,  Whalen does not appear to pose a physical threat in the kitchen.

Some may say the Bunker Hill Community College culinary student appears quiet, even shy. But once she begins working, her passion for fresh ingredients and tenacity of purpose becomes evident and her culinary presence is strong, despite having only a few years of experience.

"I took two years off of school to rethink what I wanted to do," Whalen said. "I wasn’t going to waste money on school if I didn’t know what I wanted."

So when Whalen started at BHCC, she found her niche. Chosen out of about 40 culinary students in her program, Whalen knew the pressure was on her to perform, cook and succeed and she was prepared to do so. After all, the event was postponed twice due to inclement weather, giving her extra time for practice and precision.

"It’s given me extra time to practice," Whalen said. "I’m making my dough from scratch, so as time has gone on, I find ways to make things quicker and more efficient."

And that was important in this competition. Each competitor had only two hours inside the kitchen. But Whalen said she was confident, as her dish has been in the works for some time. All recipes had to be submitted weeks before the competition and once they are submitted, no adjustments can be made to the recipe.

Chosen to go seventh out of eight competitors, Whalen had significant time to consider her game plan. When it was her turn, Whalen completed her prosciutto wrapped chicken breast with apricot brandy sauce and a savory mushroom tomato tarte well within the time limit. Chef judge Christopher Coombs of dbar and Deuxave called her chicken "succulent and done perfectly."

Whalen did not win the competition, but she remained positive and upbeat after hearing the results.

"Just being in the competition is a huge accomplishment for me," Whalen said. "It will open so many doors."

That it will. In the mean time, Whalen says she wants to work her way around some Boston restaurant kitchens and get her hands wet. Ultimately, she wants to own two restaurants: a diner and a fine dining establishment.