Erick Palma Ornelas, left, Briana Ortiz and Lilyan Jackson, all 17, work on preparing lemon ricotta pancakes at a culinary arts lab at Central High School (photo by Marjorie Rice).
Central High School senior Erick Palma Ornelas, 17, is a culinary career hopeful who wants to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. He’s hoping C-Cap, the Careers through Culinary Arts Program, will help him on that path.
“My grandfather owns Carmen’s Bakery, and I help there sometimes,” he said. “He started from scratch, and it’s still there. I have a dream of being like him and making my own restaurant.”
Ornelas is in his third year of culinary sciences classes at Central, under teacher Erin Sullivan. Three other seniors, Lilyan Jackson, Briana Ortiz and Izabella Lewis, also have signed up for C-Cap.
Jackson, 17, is planning to attend culinary school in California. “My dad’s a butcher,” she said. “He had his own shop in Stillwater, Oklahoma, but it was torn down by a tornado.” Jackson said she watches her dad whenever she can while he’s in the kitchen, to learn knife skills, among others. “I’m in C-Cap to learn things that I don’t already know,” she said.
Ortiz, 17, isn’t sure she wants a culinary career, but it’s on her list, along with animal technician and welding. “I signed up with C-Cap because I like to learn about dishes I’ve never heard of before,” she said. It’s also helped her at home, where, the oldest of three children, she helps out a lot with the cooking.
“My mom couldn’t finish her culinary school, so now I want to do it,” said Lewis, 18. “I just really love being able to create new dishes, and explore different tastes. I cook for my family. My favorite part is making the dish and seeing the faces of people.”
About 130 students in 30 high schools throughout the state participate in C-Cap, said Kevin Barko, program director for C-Cap Arizona, which has been part of the national program for 30 years. “It began in New York to help under-served kids in inner-city schools who were interested in culinary careers,” he said.
High schools that sign up for C-Cap receive access to Rouxbe (pronounced RUBY), which publishes educational videos on culinary topics. That’s especially helpful in schools where teachers may have limited culinary experience, Barko said. Schools also have access to lesson plans from C-Cap, and workshops and mentoring by Barko, who travels the state to work with individual teachers and students in the program.
C-Cap’s scholarship program features a preliminary and a final competition. At each, the students, working individually, will have an hour to prepare two recipes – a plain French omelet and a cucumber-jicama salad with vinaigrette in the preliminary. At the final, they’ll prepare crepes and hunter’s chicken, an “airline” chicken breast (a half breast with the first joint of the wing attached) served with a hunter sauce of tomato and reduced chicken stock, and plated with precisely cut potatoes.
The program began in late September, “the first real experience they have to see how it works,” Barko said. At the kick-off, students could see the two dishes they will prepare at the preliminary competition, then they’ll have practice sessions in following weeks with their teachers.
Keven Barko, C-Cap Arizona program director, travels the state to work with individual teachers and students in the program (photo by Marjorie Rice).
“I tell all of the kids, the dishes themselves are not that difficult, it’s the technical component,” Barko said. “Are you maintaining your time management, keeping up with the mis en place, cleanliness – all of that is part of it.”
It’s tougher than it may sound. The salad requires precisely diced ingredients – showcasing knife skills – and judges use rulers to measure for conformity. Thirty or so young chefs are selected for the final. The total depends on the number of scholarships available that year, because every finalist will receive a scholarship. The awards are determined after more interviews, an essay and questionnaire, and consultation among officials in the state and national C-Cap organizations.
“We have schools all over the country that give us scholarships – like the Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales College of Food Innovation & Technology (CFIT),” Barko said. “The CIA will give us four to six scholarships for the whole country, and all the programs through the nation will put up candidates.”
Not all scholarships are for culinary studies. Barko cited one student who got $10,000 to help pay for pre-law school at ASU.
The awards breakfast will be held in April at Chateau Luxe, where the students learn what they’ve won.
Ornelas competed last year in the preliminary, and hopes to make the final this time around. “I want to make them see how much I’ve improved myself,” he said. “Last year they saw me having fun, this year they’ll see me serious. C-Cap is a great opportunity, and I want to take every opportunity that can get me on the right path.”
C-Cap Arizona’s annual fundraiser, the Harvest Moon Feast, will be held Oct. 17 at The Phoenician. Along with music and auctions of culinary and travel offerings, guests sample a diverse menu of small bites, prepared by culinary students, with their teachers and chef mentors. Jon Clancy, former Phoenix Suns executive chef and the mentor for Central High, has planned the menu: “Cen-Hi Tacos” in two versions: bang bang shrimp and short rib. He’ll work with the students on prepping and final cooking and serving.
The Phoenician provides all the rentals, so all the money goes to the organization, Barko said. Another major supporter is Sysco Arizona, the wholesale restaurant food supply company, which donates all the food for the competitors.
The C-Cap Arizona Harvest Moon Feast will be held at 6 p.m. (VIP ticket-holders) and 7 p.m. (general admission), Oct. 17 at The Phoenician, 6000 E. Camelback Road. For information and tickets, visit www.ccapinc.org.
