Jennifer Kooyman felt anxiety grow into pins and needles.
She had been confident on the flight to Los Angeles. She still felt positive after touching down, on the way to the event.
Yet the annual California Community College Culinary Competition is a chopping block for young chefs. Judges pick at dishes for the slightest flaw. And the Woodland Community College Lake County Campus student would be battling seasoned peers.
So, Kooyman admitted, “Once I got there it was scary.”
The competition didn’t faze her, mind you. Kooyman came home with first place honors, topping seven other chefs from around the state. She even earned a perfect score — 140 points — from one judge.
What startled the Clearlake Oaks resident at first was the crowd. The culinary competition is in conjunction with a conference and job fair for community college hospitality students. Unaware of this as she walked into the facility in Downey, the sight of hundreds of chefs coats milling around the hall caused a momentary shiver.
Kooyman’s confidence returned quickly once she realized the field was limited to eight top competitors, rather than the multitude she imagined.
She had planned and honed her dish for weeks with Woodland culinary instructors Robert Cabreros and Anne-Marie Pleskaczewski. And she understood their guidance led other from the program to podiums at the event.
Still, when Kooyman was announced as the winner, it came as something of a surprise.
“I was shocked — I’ve never won anything like that before,” she said. “Chef Anne was excited. She cried.”
The winning dish brought global flair to the competition theme that called for a taste of New Orleans. Kooyman prepared a jambalaya egg roll, paired with a dipping sauce that played on the French Quarter classic Hurricane cocktail. To the side, she added a Caribbean influenced mango slaw.
Each competitor completed four plates — one for each judge and one for display. They were scrutinized for knife skills, timing, temperature, flavor, creativity and use of the required ingredients (in this case shrimp, andouille sausage, bell pepper, tomato and rice).
When Kooyman and her instructors first began playing with recipes, they settled on arancini, believing the Sicilian staple would work nicely with Cajun flavors. Eventually, however, they decided upon the bayou egg roll.
Although the judges nitpicked — one docked Kooyman two points for lack of a garnish — the results were similar. One perfect score of 140, the others in the upper 130s. And the judging sheets included praise in every category.
“They said a lot of stuff,” Kooyman said. “They were impressed with my knife skills.”
And that’s a plus, considering one of her take homes for winning the competition was a brand new, top of the line chef’s knife. She also earned a trophy and $1,000.
After graduation, Kooyman hopes to put some of that prize money toward a food truck, although she is still deciding upon a concept.
“There are so many foods I love,” said the woman capable of Cajun-Caribbean-Asian fusion in front of a fussy panel. “I eat everything.”
In the wake of Kooyman’s victory, only one thing now bothers the standout student chef. The California Community College Culinary Competitive was her first ever bout before judges.
She won, first time out. So how does she top that?
“Oh, no pressure,” Kooyman said with a laugh.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
