Culinary students in HEB ISD will serve a dish they created at this weekend's Cowboys game at AT&T Stadium.
Students at Buinger CTE in Bedford won the "Taste of the Cowboys Youth Challenge".
To win the contest, culinary students delivered recipes to chefs for Legends Hospitality, which provides food and beverage services for the Cowboys.
Buinger CTE won a $10,000 grant from the Gene and Jerry Jones Foundation by providing this menu:
Appetizer
Southwest Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls with Cilantro Blue Cheese
Entrée
Rosemary Pan Seared Pork with Cranberry Clementine Glaze
Green Chile Cheddar Grits
Sweet Corn Succotash
Fritters
Lemon Garlic Sautéed Spinach
Jalapeño Popper Deviled Egg
Dessert
Strawberry Peach Shortcake
Peanut Butter Pie Doughnut
Citrus Whipped Topping
Pistachios
Amanda Bensley, chef instructor at Buinger CTE, says students spent time designing the menu and using trial and error to find dishes that would complement each other.
"We try to, as an instructor, take a piece of what they want to do and bring it over to the new idea," she says.
"It's all building blocks," says Team Captain Connor Simpson. "They're not telling us what we can and can't do. They're just directing us and helping us figure out what we like and what we want to do because in cooking, you could do hundreds of different things."
This Sunday, students at Buinger will man Main Club North at AT&T Stadium and sell a dish they created: Kickin' Chicken and Biscuits.
Simpson says they wanted something unique but also something that would appeal to a large number of people and be easy to carry back to their seats.
"We want something people will come back for," he says. "The only way you can reach that is just by experimenting."
Kickin' Chicken and Biscuits includes chicken on a biscuit served with red pepper jelly and a fried goat cheese patty.
Teammate Luke Cannon says they also wanted to develop a dish that would keep drawing people back instead of something outrageous people might try once but not buy regularly.
"It's something quick and easy but at the same time, really good, really unique and flavorful. You have to market it to everyone. You have to add everybody's tastes into it. It's all about building up," he says.
Simpson says he plans to open a restaurant or a food truck when he finishes college. Cannon has been accepted to the Culinary School of Fort Worth and says he hopes to open a catering business.
Bensley, their instructor, says regardless of what career her students ultimately choose, projects like this can help them gain practical experience.
"We want them to be successful professionals no matter where they go," she says. "They're building professional skills like time management and multitasking they can take absolutely anywhere."
Skyline High School in Dallas won 2nd place and $5,000 grant from Dairy MAX.
Frisco CTE won 3rd place and $3,000 grant from Dairy MAX.
Dan Dipert Career Center in Arlington ISD won 4th place and a $1,500 grant from Dairy MAX.
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