Caesar Rodney High School’s culinary team took home first place in a national competition and it’s fifth straight state title. (From top left, clockwise): Melia Stamper, Ralph Figueroa, Shannon Powell, Zoe Rowe and Carys Raber.
Just a few minutes of talking to the Caesar Rodney High School culinary team makes it clear why they are state champs for the fifth straight year and now winners of the 2024 National ProStart Invitational.
The sense of family within the team mixed with a strong, experienced leader and a passion for the art of cooking brings the group together.
“It was absolutely surreal; it was just such a great feeling,” said Zoe Rowe. “It was like everything we’ve been working towards all these months finally paid off, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is really happening,’ and it’s really rewarding to realize it was all worth it.”
Caesar Rodney High School ’s culinary team took home its fifth straight state title in the 11th Annual Delaware ProStart Student Invitational, which was hosted at the Chase Center in Wilmington.
The team finished second in 2023 and was the champion of the 2022 national competition – clearly, the school appears to be building a culinary dynasty that could mirror the ‘90s Bulls.
That team is made up of students. Melia Stamper, Shannon Powell, Ralph Figueroa, Carys Raber, Zoe Rowe and Grey Bendel.
All the competing students are part of the three-year culinary pathway that will lead them all into a career within the field.
In what’s considered the “Top Chef” for high school cooks, the Caesar Rodney team served up hand-rolled pork dumplings, pepper-crusted steak Diane and a lemon meringue tart.
The team also can’t prepare any dishes they had made in the previous four years of the competition.
“We built a whole menu basically from the ground up by kind of sampling off of recipes,” said Carys Raber.
It’s a trial and error process which was tweaked virtually every day, and Ralph Figueroa said creating the menu mimics the research and development process in other fields.
“When we eat these dishes at the end of each practice, I’m always talking about how we’re not here to eat, we’re here to taste, and so we’re really hyper-critical,” said team supervisor and teacher, Chef Terri Senn.
One team member might think the seasoning is a bit off, or something isn’t as sweet as it should be, so everyone contributes ideas as they practiced perfecting their three-course meal.
The group put their creative caps on to try different plating and positioning methods, and they all showed appreciation for the art of cooking, which often gets overlooked.
“It’s definitely an art form, there’s so many things that go into it like the composition of a plate, the colors contrasting with each other, the texture,” Rowe said. “Even the whitespace on the plate is just as important as what’s actually there. It’s so many little details that maybe we won’t really notice, but it definitely goes a long way into making it something that is nationally winning.”
The team is in a small 10×10 “box” during the competition, and while it can be stressful, each member has their own duties that play on their individual strengths.
Teams participating demonstrated their creative abilities and culinary skills through the preparation of a three-course meal in 60 minutes, using only two butane burners.
Stamper said communication under the clock is crucial, which is why the team members having a great relationship with one another is helpful when navigating through the small kitchen space and telling each other when they need a hand.
“We’re not just a team, we end up being a family,” Senn said. “We take care of each other and we work together really well.”
Senn had more than 30 years of experience in the industry before teaching.
“I owned two restaurants in Richmond, Virginia, worked for The Greenbrier Resort for 13 years, and worked for Viking Range Corp for 9 years,” she said.
During her time with the Greenbrier, she worked with famous culinarians like Julia Child, Jean-Louis Palladin, Marcel Desaulniers, Rick Bayless, Louis Osteen, Nathalie Dupree, Rose Levy Berenbaum, Graham Kerr, Andre Soltner, Jasper White, Patrick O’Connell, Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken.
“While with Viking I had the opportunity to work with Food Network celebrities such as Sarah Moulton, Guy Fierri and Emeril Lagasse,” she said. “I have been so fortunate to work with many talented chefs and my goal is to pass that knowledge along to my students.”
The Delaware Restaurant Foundation hosts the statewide competition featuring 17 culinary and management teams who were judged on teamwork, culinary expertise and restaurant industry management skills.
“Success is not just about winning competitions, it’s about the dedication, teamwork, and passion that drive us towards our goals,” said Meg Gardner, director of the foundation. “These teams showed those skills throughout the day.”
Cape Henlopen High School’s team took home the silver followed by Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School’s team in the state competition.
In the management competition for the state title, Odessa High School’s team was awarded 1st place, followed by Laurel High School and Glasgow High School.
“This year we hosted student competitors and observers to network, showcase skills, and explore what this industry has to offer,” Gardner said.
Every team member pockets $7,000 in scholarship money as a prize.
They all were giddy about meeting people from across the country, picking their brains and enjoying the diversity of cultures expressed in all the meals prepared.
Whether it’s a passion for art that translated to cooking, whipping up recipes as a child with family members or the opportunity to try new recipes and learn different cultures, every member of the Caesar Rodney team had a go-to story on what ignited their love for food.
“My passion for cooking started when I was young,” Powell said, “I was always cooking in the kitchen with my great grandma, and she taught me everything I know.”
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