New Hampshire High School Chefs Compete in Concord Culinary Challenge

Students from across New Hampshire competed on Tuesday, March 3, in an annual cooking competition in Concord. The students were asked to prepare a three-course meal, including a starter, entrée, and dessert, in one hour.

News 9 WMUR spoke with three students, Lacey Stanley, Simone Egli, and Makenna Paul, from White Mountains Regional High School. The trio prepared pan-seared Atlantic scallops with endive slaw and fennel conserve as the starter, lamb with bearberry seasoning and yogurt sauce with lentils as the entrée, and a coconut cake with passion fruit curd and glaze for dessert.

The high-stakes, public setting for the event amped up their nerves compared to working alone in the kitchen, they said. In the end, the after-school practice time devoted to mastering their dishes and adhering to a strict time management schedule helped them stay on track during the culinary challenge.