The slogan of the UVU Culinary Arts program is "There's a Place for You at UVU".
We talked with two amazing graduates of the program, Sarrenity Dickson and Lindsay Peck.
They won the American Culinary Federation (ACF) national student of the year awards in the savory and pastry categories, respectively.
The award ceremony was held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Caesars Forum Conference Center in front of one thousand of the nation's culinary educators.
Competitors were allowed a 15-minute setup window, two hours to cook, a 20-minute plating window, and 10 minutes to clean and exit their station.
Peck prepared an amuse-bouche (small complimentary appetizer) of salmon, scallop, and lobster savory crêpe with smoked lox, watercress emulsion, country dill cream, crispy capers, coral chip, sieved egg, and caviar, and an entrée of bone-in pork loin trio.
Peck contributes her success of winning Student Chef of the Year to her mentors at UVU, especially Chef Todd Leonard.
Sarrenity Dickson was awarded the honor of Student Pastry Chef of the Year. Her assignment was to create a pastry that captured the essence of Las Vegas, Nevada: "Tropical Oasis in the Desert."
Dickson prepared a fluted dome filled with Bavarian cream, mango-passionfruit compote, toasted macadamia nuts, and butter sable, with a pineapple cremeux, ganache-filled zeppole, coconut créme fraîche gelato, mango-kiwi salsa, and bittersweet Cémoi chocolate sauce, garnished with a dried pineapple tuile representing the Las Vegas Gateway Arches.
Additionally, Dickson prepared a petit four — a small confection typically served after a meal — consisting of whipped caramel cream, fresh banana, raspberry puree, and Baumkuchen cake, encased in Arriba milk chocolate, each decorated with either a spade, club, heart, or diamond.
Like Peck, Dickson attributes her success to her mentor Chef Diana Fallis and the entire UVU CAI program.
UVU is an open-admission university that offers everything from certificates to master's degrees. Students can start by getting a certificate in culinary arts and work their way through the program to earn a bachelor's in Hospitality Management. Chef Todd wants you to know that there's a place for you at UVU.
Learn more about the UVU Culinary Arts Institute by visiting uvu.edu/culinary and be sure to follow them on Instagram @utah.valley.university, Twitter @UVU, Facebook @UVU andLinkedIn @UtahValleyUniversity.
