Best teen chef in America knows what's cooking

Best teen

chef in America knows what's cooking

For 17-year-old

high school senior Anthony Tabb, the hours spent in the family kitchen

watching his dad and grandmother cook has paid off in a big way.

Anthony is

this year's winner of The Art Institutes National Culinary Scholarship

Competition and the official title of "Best Teen Chef in America."

Open to high school students from all over the country, the cook-off offers

more than $180,000 in scholarships to The Art Institutes Culinary Arts

programs.

According to

recent statistics, the number of high school students entering culinary

school is on the rise, and with good reason, says Joseph Shilling, a chef

director for The Art Institutes and a judge at this year's cook-off. "There's

a rosy job market in the food service industry predicted through the year

2006," he says.

At this year's

event, 24 students participated in a grueling two-hour cook-off, preparing

a menu of tenderloin of beef, crab cakes and Caesar salad under the watchful

eyes of six judges, including three master chefs who teach at The Art

Institutes.

For his considerable

culinary skills, Tabb won a full scholarship to The Illinois Institute

of Art Chicago, worth approximately $29,000. As the top winner, he also

took home an induction stove with a complete set of professional quality

stainless steel pots and pans, valued at approximately $1,500.

Joseph Messina,

a high school senior from Sun Valley, Calif., who will attend The Art

Institute of Los Angeles, was the second-place finisher, while Crystal

Haire, a high school senior from Sunrise, Fla., who will attend The Art

Institute of Fort Lauderdale, finished third. Both will receive full-tuition

scholarships.

Now in its

second year, the scholarship competition requires that interested students

submit a notebook of information, including a two-course meal menu, recipes,

photographs of each course and the meal, and a cost analysis of the menu.

Additionally,

students were asked for a descriptive paragraph of why they want to enter

the culinary profession, along with a resume, transcripts and letters

of recommendation.

For his application,

Anthony submitted a menu of original recipes that illustrate his culinary

philosophy so far. "I love creating art out of raw material and an

idea," explains Tabb.

And Tabb was

not alone in his concern for "presentation," or how food appears

on the plate. The students at this year's cook-off had "a terrific

sense of how food should taste and appear," says Shilling.

And according

to Chef Shilling, that's a hallmark of a great chef. "People eat

with their eyes, not just their palates," he explains.

Among Anthony's

signature dishes are linguini with light pesto, spicy mussels in cream

sauce, Tony's artichoke hearts and seasoned steak rolls. "You have

to eat everyday why not make mealtime enjoyable, delicious and beautiful

to look at," says Tabb, sounding just like a master chef already.

High school

students interested in next year's competition can contact The Art Institutes

at 1-888-328-7900 or visit www.artinstitutes.edu/nz and look for

the Culinary Scholarship Competition link.