CREDIT: STEPHANIE LAI
Student Iliah Krent and instructor Roland Hofner were busy during Reading Week, preparing for the food show, which happened March 3.

Seven Culinary students competed in the Escoffier Society of Toronto's Culinary Salon competition at the CRFA Food Show in Toronto in early March.

Instead of taking a trip to Cabo or relaxing in their hometowns, the students were in cooking labs throughout Reading Week to prepare their pieces for the competition.

Second-year Culinary Management student Anna Bilcke said she didn't care about winning medals, but focused on the learning experience she was getting.

“It grows our knowledge,” she said. “You get more knowledge than other students who aren't doing this on Reading Week.”

“Even when you think you know what you're doing, you always learn new ways to do things.”

Iliah Krent, a continuing education student, said the competition put her skills to the test in “every which way possible.”

“We got to explore different types of techniques and methods,” she said. “Some elements you don't always come in contact with in school.”

Pastry is where she finds her happy place.

“The kitchen can be [heavy and draining], too,” she said. “It's your own pressure, not life pressure ... You can be creative and it can go in so many different directions. Everybody has a different take on it.”

Instructor Roland Hofner praised the group of students, and said the competition was a great exercise for them.

“The eager ones — the ones who want to go that extra step and go for this experience and the headache, the pain, the agony and extra hours — they will come back, they will compete and hopefully succeed.”

Fact is, the students don't have to do this.

“This is extra on top of their school hours,” he said. “[They used] skills, which they don't quite learn in class, so they are all here on their own time just acquiring new skills and competing.”

“They will see very quickly when they try to do new things … if they're able to do it or not ... then they can challenge their own limits and improve them and try harder until something breaks.”

Hofner didn't expect medals; he wanted students to experience the fun and learn from it.

“If they win a medal, even better, but I'm not too crazy on the medal part,” he said. “For me it's the fun they're having and the skill experience [they] take away from it, that's all that really matters.”

Carly Holloway, Bonnie Tingley, Shauna Stewart, Annabelle MacDonald and Iliah Krent all walked away with bronze medals; Anna Bilcke and Rachelle Goulet took home silvers and Goulet won Overall Best Show entry in wedding cakes.

Historically, Hofner said Fanshawe students have done well, medalling in the past, but it's the experience to be savoured, not the prize.

“It's like the Olympics; being there matters more than the gold medal you take away,” he said. “They will remember it one day and what they achieved.”