Not only can Isle of Wight County Schools’ culinary arts students cook, they can do it under the pressure of a ticking clock.

Six students from Smithfield and Windsor high schools will represent the state in a national cooking competition after taking first place in the Virginia ProStart Invitational. It was Isle of Wight’s first time participating.

The Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association Foundation hosted the cook-off on Feb. 28 at the Hotel Madison in Harrisonburg. There, over 100 students handpicked from the best  high school culinary career and technical education programs across the state competed to prepare a three-course meal in an hour or less using only two butane burners with no running water or electricity under the watchful eyes of a panel of judges.

The six-member panel observing Isle of Wight’s winning team included Sam Wallis, an executive corporate chef for the town’s anchor employer, Smithfield Foods. Industry professionals with Ecolab, a global food safety contractor, also served as judges.

Isle of Wight fielded two cooking teams and a management team.

“The pressure was very intense and we did have challenges but we didn’t let that stop us,” said SHS sophomore Alexandria Washburn, who took the lead in preparing the winning team’s main course: sliced filet mignon served over pan-roasted potatoes, lemon asparagus and finished with chimichurri, a sauce similar to pesto made from herbs, garlic, olive oil and vinegar.

The winning team’s three-course meal also included chicken noodle soup with handmade pasta and roasted chicken, and a chocolate brownie layered with mousse for dessert.

Washburn said she’s always had an interest in cooking and got her start helping her parents in the kitchen. She got into the culinary arts program as a freshman, which she noted “usually doesn’t happen.”

“I took it as a sign,” Washburn said.

The winning team also included WHS seniors Christina Kea-Towns and Charlene Sanderson, SHS senior Julia Leete, SHS junior Aidan Kerr and WHS junior Logan Horton.

“Smithfield Foods was proud to sponsor the Virginia ProStart Invitational to showcase the culinary skills of these talented high school students,” Wallis said. “I have a passion for these types of programs because I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentors who helped me along the way. Any time I have the opportunity to pay it forward I’m happy to give of my time and resources to support the next generation of culinary professionals. It’s so rewarding to see these young people succeed in the culinary programs at their schools.”

Kea-Towns said her team knew the constraints of the contest ahead of time but the team’s month to prepare was frequently interrupted by six weather-related closures during what proved to be an unusually snowy winter for southeastern Virginia. Winter Storm Kingston, which dumped roughly 7 inches of snow on Smithfield and closed schools for two days Feb. 19-20, came a week before the teams were set to depart for Harrisonburg.

Kea-Towns said she plans to attend Johnson & Wales University, which offers a prestigious culinary program and operates campuses in Rhode Island and North Carolina, and one day work in a high-end commercial kitchen.

In addition to the group contest, the Virginia ProStart Invitational included individual competitions in cake decorating, napkin-folding and chicken fabrication – the latter a timed contest where students are given a whole chicken and have 10 minutes to take all the meat off the bones.

Kerr won the napkin-folding competition with the Christmas tree folding pattern he’d been practicing for over a month. Kerr also plans on attending Johnson & Wales.

Chef Scott Horne, who teaches Isle of Wight’s culinary arts program alongside chef Nic Hagen, said Kerr was able to complete the design in 18 seconds.

“We talk a lot about ‘practice makes progress,’” Horne said.

Isle of Wight’s culinary program operates out of the student-run “Turner & 10” restaurant at SHS named for the school’s location at Route 10 and Turner Drive. It began in 2017 as part of a multimillion-dollar countywide renovation of the division’s career and technical education facilities funded in part by a $3 million contribution from Smithfield Foods.

The winning Isle of Wight team will go on to compete in the National ProStart Invitational scheduled for May 2-4 at the Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore. Isle of Wight has started fundraising for the trip, which Horne and Hagen estimate will cost $2,000 to $3,000. Anyone wanting to donate can contact Smithfield High School for information on how to do so, Isle of Wight County Schools said.