In an impressive sweep, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) claimed the top three spots at the 2004 College Student Culinary Arts Competition, held March 10 in Milwaukee.

The first place winner was Stella Bernard. Second place went to Florence McDowell, and third place to Christopher Wolfert. All three students received gold medals. Other MATC competitors included Gregory Fields (silver medal), Kenneth Hutchins (silver medal) and Marc Ehler (bronze medal).

Using a challenging dual entrée of catfish and duck, students designed and presented beautifully plated meals that were judged by experienced chefs from around Wisconsin. The plated food was glazed in aspic, a jelly-like preservative. Plates were judged on appearance, presentation and creativity, not taste. Judges used a 100-point scale to evaluate each plate and awarded gold, silver and bronze medals to the top-ranking entries.

“MATC excelled this year,” said Susan Quam, head of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association Education Foundation. “The level of professionalism these students display is very impressive. They are the future stars of our industry.”

Over 70 students from eight Wisconsin technical colleges participated in the event. Overall, the judges awarded 31 bronze medals, 37 silver medals and only five gold medals. First, second and third place finishers also received cash prizes.

This year's College Student Culinary Arts Competition was sponsored by U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish and Maple Leaf Farms.

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