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March 4, 2010Downtown Art Gallery 630 (Houma)
March 8, 2010
Whatever is cooking at Nicholls State University is certainly a recipe for success.
That’s because the John Folse Culinary Institute is sending a student to nationals at the Almost Famous Chef Competition in Napa Valley, Calif., for the third consecutive year.
Junior culinary major Johnathan Lynch has earned the right to represent the Colonels this year after placing first in the South Central Regional Almost Famous Chef Competition in Austin, Texas.
Nicholls has never won the national competition, but Lynch is determined to change that.
“Hopefully, I’ll carry on the continued tradition we’re making,” said Lynch. “I’m trying to go with the attitude of being the first one to bring something back.”
Lynch said he is eager to test his skills against the other competitors.
“I’m confident in my skills, but I still have so much to learn,” he said. “This competition teaches organization and time management skills – two skills that are crucial in the kitchen.”
After working as a cook at two restaurants, the Ruston native realized he had a love for cooking and wanted to make it into a career. Lynch said the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls was a perfect fit for he and his families goals.
“I was looking for a culinary degree, but my parents wanted me to attain a four-year college degree,” said Lynch. “The Institute fit the profile perfectly.”
While in school, Lynch would like to do two internships, one in New York at the Westchester Country Club and one at the Paul Bocuse Culinary Institute in France.
“Upon graduation, I would like to work in a variety of fine dining restaurants as well as hotels to build the foundation for my ultimate goal: to be a celebrity chef,” he said. “By age 30, I would like to be on that path.”
At the competition, Lynch will have a national stage to take a huge step forward when he competes against the winners of nine other regional competitions in America and one international competitor from Italy.
The competition in Napa Valley will consist of preparing a signature dish and a dish from a “mystery basket.”
In the “mystery basket” competition, the competitors will be presented with a random assortment of food and must prepare eight plates in two hours.
“You never know what you’re going to get in a box, so my chef has been surprising me with odd ingredients and saying, ‘OK, go for it,'” said Lynch. “I can get my mind focused on techniques and flavors, so if I see something, I can immediately know, ‘I should grill this or, I should braze this, I should slow roast this, or bake it.'”
In the other half of the competition, Lynch will prepare a signature dish with Louisiana flair. His menu will be pan bronzed supreme of chicken with sautéed greens, roasted tomato, and “jambalaya” risotto cake with meunière sauce.
“You get graded on your presentation, your personality and the taste of your dish by not only the judges, but the people in the audience as well,” he explained.
Lynch said there will be four $3,000 prizes for the small-event winners and a $10,000 grand prize for the overall winner that comes with a one-year apprenticeship with a professional chef serving as a judge for the competition.
“So a shot at over $20,000 and a paid job for one year is quite the prize package for someone that’s just in culinary school,” said Lynch.
Supporters at home can even help Lynch win two of the $3,000 prizes by watching the contest live at live.almostfamouschef.com and voting for him for the Fan Favorite Award and the People’s Choice Award.
The “mystery basket” competition will take place Saturday at 1 p.m., and the signature dish competition will be Sunday at 7 p.m.
Randy Cheramie (left), associate dean of the John Folse Culinary Institute, and Johnathan Lynch, junior culinary major from Ruston, practice for the Mystery Basket Competition. * Photo courtesy of NICHOLLS STATE UNIVERSITY
