York Student's Masterpiece Turns Salmon, Poblanos and Quinoa Into First Place Award

Elmhurst Unit District 205 School Board on Tuesday honored York High School student Matthew Anieri, the Grand Prize winner of the national Kendall College School of Culinary Arts Cooks Challenge competition.

Matthew won with his Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Spicy Salmon and Spanish Style Quinoa recipe. He attended a weeklong Culinary Camp at Kendall College, Chicago, this summer, where he took classes in advanced culinary, basic baking and pastry, and food photography and styling.

The Facebook-based cooking contest invited high-school students across the U.S. to develop their culinary skills through a series of four online, interactive recipe competitions throughout the year, according to a press released from Kendall College.  During each round, students were introduced by video to three mystery ingredients to use in an original recipe. Seventy-five students submitted their recipes, photos of their finished dishes, and explanations of why they picked their dishes.

“It was exciting to be able to share this honor with Matthew as winner of the first Kendall Cooks Challenge,” Chef Christopher Koetke, vice president of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College, said in a prepared statement. “We had so many outstanding recipes, but what excited me most as an instructor, was to see the thinking, creativity and passion that went into each original dish. As a leading local culinary institution, that’s the goal we live every day.” 

Matthew’s recipe used salmon, poblano chillies and quinoa as the mystery ingredients, which earned him first place in the third round. Judges considered taste, appearance, creativity, appropriate use of mystery basket ingredients, and listing exact ingredient amounts and clear instructions. His recipe, alongside three other finalists’ recipes, was then recreated by Kendall culinary students based on his instructions, to become the winning dish. 

“I wanted to make something different than a traditional entrée with sides, so I decided to make a stuffed pepper,” Matthew said in the release. “I’ve been practicing the FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) Spanish rice recipe so I decided to adapt that to make Spanish style quinoa. I pulled in additional Mexican flavors to complement the dish.”

In addition to attending a Culinary Camp, Matthew will receive a personalized chef’s coat and appear on a future online episode of “Kendall Cooks with Chef Koetke.” All First Prize winners received a professional knife kit provided by Northwestern Cutlery.

For Mathew’s recipe and more information on the Kendall Cooks Challenge, visit the Kendall College website. http://culinary.kendall.edu/about/kendall-cooks-challenge.