By Meaghan Breen
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
SPRINGFIELD, VT — Culinary students at River Valley Technical Center (RVTC) in Springfield, VT are moving on to a national competition and will bring with them the spirit of a past chef.
After the culinary team placed first at the ProStart Invitational held at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in New York March 24-25, they were invited to the National Competition in Washington, D.C. May 1-4 to compete against other technical centers. Last year, 44 states were represented.
Students study cooking skills like baking, safe fryolator use, pan frying, serving, and manning stations like steam tables. They study foodborne illness and industry terminology, and have the option to earn college credit in addition to a national credential “ServSafe” through the National Restaurant Association. The team excelled at demonstrating their knowledge at the regional level, which prepared them for nationals.
Past RVTC students have obtained jobs all over America, and some have even produced cooking shows.
Culinary Arts Instructor David Groenewold expressed how critical a chef’s role is. “They have such an important responsibility of feeding other people,” he said. Chefs have an opportunity to be of service to other people in a unique way, he said, and the experience can be very rewarding.
A chef Groenewold said played a significant role in the students’ success is Anthony Gillette, a former resident of Springfield, VT and long-time chef who recently passed. Gillette taught at the Culinary Institue of America in New York (location of the ProStart Invitational), owned his own restaurant, and was featured in culinary magazines such as “The Chocolatier.” He also graduated from CIA.
Gillette’s wife donated a plethora of his recipe books and culinary tools to RVTC. Some of the materials were so old that it would have been impossible for students to present their final dishes without them. “We couldn’t have done it without what he left,” Groenewold said of the materials the students will be competing with.
Gillette was the embodiment of a successful chef that committed his life to being of service to others and enabling them to experience joy through food. This sentiment is passed to the RVTC students.
Groenewold emphasized the need for recognition for chefs, and noted in the past they, “have not really been taken care of very well.”
“Having the satisfaction that you know that you’ve fed all these people and that it’s excellent food, and not a lot of people on the planet would be able to do that,” he said of the benefits of the culinary experience.
The students will look to succeed at their upcoming competition with both the skills Groenewold has taught them, and the inspiration yielded by Gillette.
The ProStart Invitational is comprised of two teams: Management: Grace Burns, GMUHS; Victoria Feickert, SHS; Braiden Pinsonault, SHS; and Isabella Broome SHS.
Culinary: Christopher Leary, BFUHS; Jermaine Anders, SHS; Luna Burkland, GM; Annika Knudson, Home; and Mateo Russell Home.
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