Beckley, W.Va. (WVDN) – Earlier this month, three WVU Tech second-year Hospitality (Culinary) students got to compete with world-class chefs at the Nemacolin Resort in the 3rd Annual WVU Culinary Competition.
Students worked on their menus for months to prepare for the competition. Each student was paired with a chef from one of Nemacolin’s kitchens and refined their dishes before presenting them to a panel of judges.
Stella Tsevegjav, of Charleston, West Virginia; Bethany Evans from Wyoming County, West Virginia; and Katherine McAllister from Fayetteville, West Virginia, all agreed it was a memorable experience that will serve them well as they enter the job market as new culinarians.
McAllister won the competition with her dish of pork tenderloin and lingonberry sauce, accompanied by sauteed apples, onions, and green beans, earning her a two-year scholarship to complete her four-year hospitality degree in the Chambers College of Business in Morgantown, in addition to her two-year Hospitality (Culinary) degree.
“I was surprised to win, but it felt good,” McAllister said. “It taught me a lot about fine dining, portion sizes, how to work well under pressure, and ignore distractions,” she said.
She plans to move to Morgantown after graduation to take advantage of her scholarship. She will also serve as a guest judge in next year’s competition.
Evans said even though she didn’t win with her shrimp taco dish, the whole experience was very valuable.
“I worked at the Greenbrier for a little bit, but this was such a different pace than that. To work with all the chefs and around the different people in that environment was really interesting,” she says. “It was definitely a change of pace because I work in a bakery and have one coworker.”
Evans plans to move to Texas after graduation and hopes to continue traveling and studying different culinary traditions around the world.
Stella Tsevegjav also gained valuable insight from the competition, and says she will take her experiences with her to 1010 Bridge Restaurant in Charleston, where she’ll be working post-graduation.
“Honestly, I had an amazing experience. They were very welcoming, and the hospitality was amazing,” Tsevgjav said.
“I really took in the environment I was in, and really paid attention. My number one thing was learning from my mentor, my chef. It’s a very precise industry, and there’s a lot of chemistry and science that goes into it,” she said.
Tsevgjav created a roasted poblano and black bean stuffed roulade dish with mango sauce, parsley oil, and fried plantains. She said she learned that while in a high-stress environment, everything comes together in the end.
“When it comes down to it, it just flows,” she said. “It comes down to time management.”
