America’s Best High School Culinary and Pastry Chefs Crowned at CINY's Annual Competition

Our Culinary Institute of New York (CINY) welcomed its latest class of talented young chefs to the New Rochelle campus recently for one of its most anticipated annual events: the America’s Best High School Chef (ABHSC) and America’s Best High School Pastry Chef (ABHSPC) competition. 

This year’s America’s Best High School Chef is Arabelle Fernandez of Passaic County Technical Institute (PCTI) in Paterson, NJ. Sadie Mathews, also of PCTI, claimed the title of America’s Best High School Pastry Chef. As is tradition, both first-place finishers were awarded a full tuition scholarship to Monroe to pursue their academic dreams through our Culinary Institute of New York. 

CINY Dean Dr. Frank Costantino said this was like the most proficient group of competitors yet.

“This was a very, very tough competition, I think maybe tougher than I've seen in previous years,” he said. “This was a very different year in that respect as well. I think maybe the best talent we've seen since we've been running it.” 

Now in its 17th year, ABHSC and ABHSPC challenges students through a series of rigorous, hands-on rounds designed to test both their technical ability and creative expression in the kitchen. With students hailing from as far away as Arizona, the competition continued its long-standing tradition of competing for scholarships to one of the nation’s premier culinary programs.

Second-place honors in the culinary competition went to Jason Anderson of Mount Vernon High School, while Emma Estevez of Harry S. Truman High School in the Bronx, secured second place in pastry. Both students received generous partial scholarships that covered well over half the semesterly tuition. 

Alaryse Martinez of the High School of Hospitality Management in New York earned third place in culinary and Jada Fleming – also of Harry S. Truman High School – earned third place in pastry. Each received partial scholarships. 

From the opening round, culinary competitors were challenged to demonstrate foundational techniques and knife skills. Students were also judged on their precision and attention to detail, providing the judges a snapshot on students’ overall propensity for professionalism in the kitchen.

Following the opening round, the top 16 students advanced to the next round – the salad round – which included a pre-announced market basket of ingredients, designed to reflect dishes found on a fine dining menu. The top salad dishes determined the finalists for the final round – which tested them on their ability to put together a cohesive, delicious, and technically sound entree.

The pastry competition is handled a bit differently. Students are selected through a competitive pre-submission process where they must submit both a photo and recipe of their original dessert. The top nine finalists are then invited to campus, where they must prepare their desserts live for a panel of judges, showcasing both technical precision and artistic presentation.

For the student competitors, ABHSC and ABHSPC are both a chance to compete and get a glimpse into the world of professional chefs, where the kitchen is fast-paced, collaborative, and sometimes demanding. It also gave student competitors a taste of what it might be like to be a student at CINY: throughout the day, CINY faculty and alumni – many of them former competitors returning to act as guest judges – offered guidance and encouragement to the students, one of the hallmarks of the Monroe experience.

“It was really an exciting, exciting day. The high school students saw the warmth of our CINY program,” said Dean Costantino. “We also gave out quite a bit of scholarship money to the competitors, so it really was an exciting day.”

Another successful ABHSC and ABHSPC are in the books, closing out the biggest year of the competitions ever, with more than $1.2 million in scholarships to Monroe awarded. What a fantastic event!