Future Chefs Face Off

Limehouse Produce recently announce the winner of this year’s 2016 Fall Cornucopia Cook-Off that took place Nov. 11 at the Culinary Institute of Charleston. Michelle Hammock of West Ashley High School won with her “Autumn Harvest” dish which was a series of small desserts featuring candied kale, mini pumpkin pie, candied pecans with spiced apples, topped with kabocha squash ice cream, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. This was Michelle second year competing in the cook-off.
Now in its second year, the competition invites local high school culinary programs to have their students submit recipes featuring fall produce. The finalists from the schools come and cook their dish in front of an esteem panel of judges. This year, five students from Wando High School and West Ashley High School’s culinary programs participated.
Judges included Executive Chef Michelle Weaver from Charleston Grill, Post & Courier food reporter and restaurant critic Hanna Raskin, Jamie Vaughn from Limehouse Produce, and Marion Sullivan from the Culinary Institute of Charleston. The winner received $125 courtesy of Feed the Need, a behind-the-scenes tour with Chef Weaver including dinner at Charleston Grill, and will be featured in a Local Palate magazine ad.
“Limehouse takes pride in engaging our customers and community in outreach efforts that promote fresh, healthy eating and seasonal awareness as it relates to produce,” stated Weston Fennell, Lead Buyer at Limehouse Produce. “The Fall Cornucopia Cook-off taps into a vital audience: our future chefs studying culinary arts in high school. Cooking before esteemed judges like Hanna Raskin and Michelle Weaver provides these students with an exciting opportunity to test their creativity and skills. We hope the experience comes full circle when they visit Charleston Grill and see what goes on in a top-notch professional kitchen.”
To learn more about the Fall Cornucopia Cook-Off, visit www.limehouseproduce.com.