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Nicholls John Folse Culinary Institute students’ Logan Parker, a senior from Monroe, and Thien Nguyen, a junior from Prairieville, competed in the first week of the Dansereau House Bed and Breakfast Grill-Off Challenge.
Parker won the first Grill-Off Challenge and will advance in the six-week competition. His southern-style shrimp and grits, vegetables and side of grilled sourdough bread proved to be the edge he needed.
“Me and Thien always make a good competition, but it is not about who wins, Parker said. “I feel like it is about how much we learn during the competition and how much we can help each other grow.”
It is also payback to instructors, proving how well students pay attention in class.
“It is a good opportunity for us as students to show our teachers that we actually did learn something over the years and that they are not wasting their time on us,” Nguyen said.
The challenge is held each Thursday on the lawn of Thibodaux’s Dansereau House. Prep work begins at 5:30 p.m., with the actual competition starting at 7 p.m.
The competition is set up similar to the Food Network’s show “Iron Chef.” A secret ingredient is revealed, then the competitors have 45 minutes to make a dish for the three judges. The judges are two Dansereau House customers and one culinary instructor. The selected judges are asked to grade the dishes based on taste, presentation and originality, although taste is usually the deciding factor.
“100 times out of 100, the food that tastes the best usually wins,” Dansereau House Head Innkeeper Debra Rainey said. “It can be done on time or look beautiful on the plate, but if it does not taste good then none of that matters.”
Rainey has worked with the Food Network as well as Bon Appetite Magazine.
A Chicago, Illinois, transplant, Rainey said she was excited to learn Nicholls had the largest culinary program in the South when she arrived in Thibodaux earlier this month. She immediately sought to team up with the cooking institute.
“We are excited about the partnership. The Dansereau is a big part of Thibodaux history, so we thought we would do more things for our weekly events,” she said.
Nicholls’ culinary assistant professor Chef Monica Larousse and Rainey developed the idea in an effort to get the community more involved with the institute.
“We met a few times discussing ways we can get the community involved with the culinary program and give our students a chance to showcase their talents or even learn more about competition and also get their name out there,” Larousse said. “This competition came up and we think it is going to be a blast.”
Nicholls’ culinary staff will select a new competitor each week to compete against the reigning champion. The winner of the competition will receive $100, a free night stay in the Governor’s Suite at the Dansereau House and a job at the inn.
Dansereau House is also providing 12 externships this fall.
Competition is nothing new for Nicholls’ culinary students, according to the professor. Students vie for grades and pride, so the public competition is an exciting arena to prove their skills as a chef, she said.
“They are pumped, excited and maybe a little nervous. A lot of students are really close friends and almost like a family. It is fun to see them compete with each other on a friendly level,” Larousse said. “We do not try to push competition in class, but it just happens naturally. They just seem to strive to be better than they were the day before.”
Nicholls John Folse Culinary Institue senior Logan Parker’s version of shrimp and grits was enough to wow the judges as he advances in the Grill-Off Challenge. The competition represents a partnership between the university and Dansereau House in Thibodaux. The winner of the cook-off will earn cash and a job.
