VCC’s culinary arts students recently won first place in the competition at the Aregala 2010 conference in Costa Rica. Led by alumnus and instructor Laura Sharpe, the college team placed first in the competition, ahead of teams representing seven other countries.
“Unlike other competitions, the team had no knowledge of the ingredients before the competition began,” says department head John-Carlo Felicella. “Our biggest challenge was figuring out how to cook regional food that we didn’t even recognize.”

In addition to the competition win, the students cooked a Canadian-style buffet for 400 people, and Felicella presented a lecture on Canadian cuisine for 800 culinary students.

VCC culinary student Daniel Davyduke said the conference reminded him of how food can break down cultural and social barriers.  “The fact that food makes people happy and unifies everyone is exactly what this conference was about,” he says. “It helped me to realize that’s what I love about cooking and exactly why I am doing what I am doing.”

Aregala is an international association of restaurateurs which hosts culinary events around the globe.