Pictured at the Hungry Mouth Festival in Santa Fe last weekend are front row, left to right, Eloisa Pastry Chef Mirna Rodriguez, LAHS student Haley Adams-Brown, LAHS student Alex Pittman and Eloisa Chef Mario Martinez. Back row, LAHS student Kira Tsoodle, LAHS teacher Becca Jones, Eloisa Sous Chef Mario Mendoza, and a student from the Santa Fe Community College Culinary program. Photo Courtesy LAPS
LAHS ProStart students Haley Adams-Brown, Alex Pittman and Kira Tsoodle proudly display their award ribbons from the Hungry Mouth Festival. Photo Courtesy LAPS
LAHS NEWS
Last weekend, Nov. 9-10, Los Alamos High School ProStart students Alex Pittman, Haley Adams-Brown, and Kira Tsoodle participated in the annual Hungry Mouth Festival in Santa Fe at the Eldorado Hotel. This event feeds 325 people and brings in over $100,000 to St. Elizabeth’s Shelters in Santa Fe.
According to LAHS Family and Consumer Science Teacher Rebecca Jones, the ProStart students were paired up with Chef Mario Martinez from the famed Eloisa restaurant in Santa Fe. Martinez helped the students prepare a 3-course meal.
They also had the opportunity to work with Chef Fernando Ruiz, recent winner of Chopped and Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network.
At the end of the night, the team’s meals were assessed by a panel of judges and the event guests. The ProStart student won the following awards:
Judge’s Choice: Appetizer
Judge’s Choice: Entree’
People’s Choice: Appetizer
People’s Choice: Entree’
“I could not be more proud of their hard work and professionalism at this event,” said Jones, who is in her fourth year of teaching the ProStart class at LAHS.
The Hungry Mouth Festival is a friendly cooking competition between Santa Fe’s top chefs and volunteer teams, including high school cooking classes. ProStart is a two-year program certified by The National Restaurant Association and teaches high school students culinary and restaurant management skills. ProStart graduates have access to over a million dollars in scholarships and internships to culinary arts schools and hotel restaurant management programs.