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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 31, 2009
Contact:
Rebecca Robinson
Executive Director
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas
512-327-7555 or 512-350-4621 (cell)
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Austinite Sweeps Pastry Competition & Scholarship Honoring Austin Pastry Chef Naomi Gallego
(AUSTIN, TX) Texas Culinary Academy (TCA) Student Liz Starling emerged victorious at The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas’ Second Annual Pastry Scholarship and Cook-off Sunday. This statewide battle took place at the TCA in Austin, 11400 Burnet Road. In addition to the glory of capturing the winning title, Ms. Starling will receive a $5,000 pastry scholarship. The two runners-up, Katie Simmons from The Art Institute of Dallas, and Keri Cooper, also from TCA each carried home a $1,000 scholarship. A public announcement of the winner was held at TCA Sunday immediately following the competition.
The pastry competition is a natural fit for the Foundation, who spearheaded one of the nation’s top culinary scholarships, the Stephan Pyles Culinary Scholarship and Cook-off, held annually for the past decade. Culinary scholarships and competitions are a significant aspect of the Foundation’s mission of promoting excellence and education in the culinary and viticulture arts.
Starling is currently on an externship at a bakery decorating cakes in her home city of Corpus Christi. “The biggest challenge I faced was towards the end of the competition.Trying to manage my time while still putting the best product on the plate in a presentable fashion was a challenge. I learned a great deal along the way, including the ability to think on my toes because very little decision can really makes a difference in the final outcome. Overall the competition was friendly and a wonderful learning experience.”
Starling plans on pursuing a career in cake decorating after her graduation. “I see cake decorating as artistry where I can combine what I have learned at TCA along with my creativity.”
The Pastry Competition is named each year for a Texas Pastry Chef who has contributed significantly to Texas’ culinary legacy. The honoree this year is Naomi Gallego, who is currently Executive Pastry Chef at TRIO and the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
Named “Pastry Chef of the Year” by DC Modern Luxury Magazine in 2007, Executive Pastry Chef Naomi Gallego attended the prestigious Konditormeisterschule in Cologne, Germany and is one of only a handful of Americans to complete the master program in the past decade. Now at TRIO at the Four Seasons Hotel Austin, her work helped garner the hotel honors such as inclusion on the Condé Nast Traveler’s 2009 Gold List and Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best 2009” list.
Last year, Gallego was one of 24 chefs selected to participate in the International Confectionery Art Competition in Paris, where Gallego and her partner placed fourth.
The cook-off was coordinated by Chefs Quincy Adams Erickson and Aimee Olson. Both are Paris Cordon-Bleu trained and well-versed in culinary competitions.
“Last year we were thrilled to establish one of Texas’ first statewide student pastry competitions. Pastry is a specialized area and deserves its own spotlight. We really want to encourage innovation and test students’ skill by giving them challenges that will represent real life in a professional kitchen,” stated Erickson.
For the competition, student applicants are solicited throughout the state. Students are presented with five distinct pastry challenges; a composed dessert fashioned after a high-end restaurant dessert, a traditional Texas dessert (this year, Tres Leches Cake), a standard technique dessert (Vanilla Crème Brulee), a Mignardise plate and new to the competition this year – a yeast bread. Recipes are submitted with applications, reviewed by a panel of culinary professionals and three finalists are selected for the final competition.
At the cook-off, the three finalists prepare and present their desserts over the course of two-days. Desserts are rated blindly by a panel of culinary experts, including special honoree, Naomi Gallego. Other final round celebrity judges included Executive Pastry Chef Philip Speer of Uchi, Chef Marianne Schmidt of Whole Foods Market and local food writer Laura Kelso.
Judges and students’ identities are hidden from one another until the winner is announced. Desserts are scored based on taste, texture, originality and plating. Students are also judged by their composure in the kitchen. For more information on the competition or to donate to the scholarship fund, please contact Rebecca Robinson at
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SPONSORED BY:
Texas Culinary Academy
Texas Culinary Academy, located in Austin, Texas is a 73,000 square foot facility offering students an education in culinary techniques based on the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu Programs. Intensive 12and 15 month programs combine hand-on experience in the kitchen with general education coursework, preparing students with Le Cordon Bleu Culinary skills and the business skills necessary to manage a food-service establishment. TCA is a private, post-secondary institution in partnership with the legendary 108year old Le Cordon Bleu Program; and located at 11400 Burnet Road. TCA is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. www.tca.edu.
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas
The Wine & Food Foundation of Texas is a statewide public charity founded in 1997 dedicated to recognizing and developing creativity, professionalism and state of the science research in all areas of the culinary and viticultural arts. The Foundation accomplishes this mission through competitive grants, scholarships and fellowships. For more information visit www.winefoodfoundation.org.
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