Glenrock High School team wins West-Mex® Culinary Competition
Cheyenne , Wyo. —Two students from Glenrock High School had the culinary skills needed to win the 2007 West-Mex® Culinary Competition conducted by Taco John's and the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association. The final Iron Chef-style cook off was held Tuesday at the Sheridan Dome in Sheridan .
Aric Parkinson and Jim Downs from Glenrock High matched kitchen wits with Rockie J. Hiser and Travis Tomjack from Cheyenne Central. Both teams were given a set of ingredients typically found in a Taco John's restaurant, plus a mystery ingredient unveiled at the competition. The Glenrock Team created a grilled burrito called the “Ben Burrito” using tortilla strips, Potato Olés®, rice, nacho cheese sauce, lettuce, and the mystery ingredient – pork carnitas.
Using the same core items, the Cheyenne Central team created the “Stampede Burrito”, a very good product according to Vice President of Menu Strategy and Innovation, Bob Karisny, but not quite as tasty and marketable as the “Ben”.
“The competition was terrific and very close. Both teams were outstanding and had great intensity,” said Karisny. “They jumped right into the planning. I was really impressed with the maturity and energy of the teams.”
The Glenrock team won scholarships as well as the chance to work with the Taco John's Training and Marketing departments to develop training materials and point-of-sale materials for their product. These materials will be used to introduce and promote the winning product in the Taco John's restaurants in Cheyenne , and potentially in the Taco John's restaurant(s) in the team's hometown.
“Like last year, this not only was a great experience for the participants, it was incredibly rewarding for Taco John's. We're so glad we can help students out while promoting the idea of the food service industry as a career choice,” said Brian Dixon , vice president of marketing for Taco John's.
To learn more about the WLRA and the West-Mex® Culinary Competition, go to www.wlra.org.
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