March 2, 2013, Orange High School student Ashley Hinkle placed second in the Teen Chef Competition at the Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham. Many high school teens with a heart for cooking surrounded the stadium. During the competition contestants make two main courses: appetizers and a main dish. They’re given ninety minutes to prepare both. Before cooking the main courses, contestants have to show their knife cutting skills by dicing tomatoes, potatoes, and onions, this takes thirty minutes.Hinkle says she was nervous about the knife cutting portion of the competition. “ I practiced all week to be ready!”
Hinkle made shrimp cocktail for her appetizers. She started off by boiling the shrimp with bay seasoning. For her presentation Hinkle placed the shrimp around a margarita glass with a basil leaf on the side accompanied with a lime.
The main dish was Italian chicken with broccoli and rice pilaf. Hinkle says while making her main dish she tried, “to stand out as much
as possible without showing off.” She cooked her Italian chicken with white wine, the broccoli was sauteed with onions, and the rice pilaf was joined with sun dried tomatoes and onions, cooked in chicken stock. After given her place in the competition, on her way to greet her family and friends, Lora Leslee from WRAL came up to Hinkle and said “Did you take 2nd place?” Hinkle confirmed that she did take 2nd place, Leslee then says, “ You had the neatest prep table, that I seen! Congratulations!” Hinkle was grateful for the compliment but excited to see her friends and family.
Hinkle says she has always wanted to be a chef and this gives her all the confidence that she needs to pursue her education in cooking.
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