VIDEO: Mountain View Culinary Arts Students Prepare Gourmet Dish for Cooking Showdown

The clock was ticking down as Mountain View High student chefs worked to plate their gourmet dish as part of El Monte Union’s inaugural Cooking Showdown, a game-show style competition that featured culinary arts students from Arroyo, Mountain View and Rosemead high schools.

The “Top Chef”-style competition, held March 15, aimed to highlight the District’s Food Science and Food Service career technical education pathways, as well as Mountain View’s communications and technology programs.

The six-member teams received mystery boxes containing chicken, sweet potatoes and beets and had 75 minutes to plan and prepare a meal. The students added their own savory touches to the mix, hoping to impress the judges’ panel.

The Viking team, led by senior Luis Villalobos, improvised a pasta bake with a cheese sauce, which was scored based on timing, presentation, taste and creativity.
“We were well-prepared. Chef Max teaches us the proper way to cook meats, chop vegetables and to go with our instincts on what to serve,” Villalobos said. “The stress level was high, but we had a lot of confidence and our communication was great.”

The “show” will air on the District’s YouTube channel on May 1, with the winning team announced at the Board of Trustees meeting later that night.