MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. — Step aside Netflix and the Food Network because the new hottest cooking competition is coming out of a Mount Pleasant high school.
Case High School students race against the clock to prepare the best chili dish possible. They rush to sharpen knives, cut vegetables, mix the perfect blend of spices and cook their chili. In the end, each chili will be judged by students and staff. Then the best ones will go up against the South Shore and Racine fire departments on Dec. 15.
However, the fire department might be cheating because they were at Case High School trying the competition's chili.
"No comment right now, no," one firefighter said.
Asked whether or not they will be stealing the recipe, the battalion chief said, "Ours is probably going to win."
It's not just Case High School taking part in this fun competition. Horlick and Park high school students part of the culinary arts academic pathways program is making their best chili too. The pathways program is designed to give students hands-on and real-world experience in professional fields they are already interested in. Students can pick public health, aviation, business, education, and culinary arts pathways to name a few. The goal is to prepare them for career or higher education opportunities after high school.
The chili cook-off is part of the culinary arts fall semester final.
"Show them how to really, you know, develop, you know, not just their cooking skills - their managerial skills, leadership skills," Erica Buskirk, the advanced culinary teacher at Case said.
Many of the students in Ms. Buskirk's class have aspirations to work at or own a restaurant.
"I'm actually going to Gateway (Techincal College) for culinary, and I chose this class because out of all the other things I could have chosen culinary was the most interesting to me," Bryonna Billips, a Case senior, said.
In the class, there are multiple stove tops, ovens, tons of cooking utensils, pots, pans, and just about any appliance you would find in a commercial kitchen.
"I actually want to open up my own bakery one day, so this is going to give me that first-hand experience that I would probably need," Allyson Treu, another Case senior, said.
But before they open any restaurants, they have to take on the Southshore and Racine fire departments. Fire departments always seem to be chili-making experts, but these students will surely give them a run for their money.
