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Local Student Chef Battles it Out With the Pros at the American Culinary Federation’s Southeast Regional Conference

John LaTour, Culinary Arts Student at Central Piedmont Community College, Receives Top Honors for His Creation of “Spring in the Carolinas” 3-Tier Cake

Wesley Chapel, NC, April 27, 2009: John LaTour, a Union County resident and culinary arts student at Central Piedmont Community College, was awarded a gold medal and $500 in prize money for winning the Best in Category C (Patisserie/Confectionery) of the Cold Food Salon portion of the American Culinary Federation’s Southeast Regional Conference. The event was held April 18-20, at The Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC.

Unlike cook-offs you may have seen locally or on Food Network, this live competition pitted professional and student chefs in culinary combat to demonstrate their individual skills, techniques, and styles, while allowing the general public to observe their creative abilities. The majority of the ACF competitors were professional chefs and/or culinary instructors who have been in the trenches for a while perfecting their art. John LaTour was one of only a handful of culinary students to bravely enter the competition against these fierce contenders.

Guidelines for judging were stringent. Judges based their evaluations on a number of criteria including organization, handling of food, serving methods, presentation, creativity, and taste. Even if a competitor was the only contestant in a particular category, there were no guarantees he or she would win an award. However, LaTour knew he had wowed the judges with his delectable creation when one member of the panel proclaimed, “People just can't stop looking at it!”

Assigned with designing a decorated celebration cake featuring edible materials, LaTour prepared a 3-tier square cake with a “Spring in the Carolinas” theme. This sensational effect was achieved by combining a lemon yellow cake with blackberry jam filling, iced with a lemon curd buttercream, and covered with light pink fondant. The crowning glory was 60 realistic-looking gumpaste dogwood flowers that were strategically placed all over the cake. “I prepared most of the flowers while watching the NCAA basketball tournament games on TV,” says LaTour. “Then I stored them to be used later in the competition.”

LaTour credits his baking and pastry arts instructor, Chef Geoffrey Blount, with his recent accomplishment. “Chef Blount is outstanding as a teacher and mentor,” say LaTour. “All of the success I have enjoyed has been due to his diligence, humor, and dedication.” In like regard, Chef Blount considers LaTour one of his model students by saying, “John is a true, nitty-gritty, down-to-earth guy who has a drive to succeed and do things perfectly.” Fellow student and friend, Amanda White, says one of the best lessons she learned during the past two years was from LaTour who told her to always “trust your gut, and just go with it.”

So what’s next for John LaTour in the wake of his recent success? He and his wife, Melissa, are preparing to open a coffee house café, The Coffee Table (www.wesleychapelcoffee.com) in Wesley Chapel, NC. The neighborhood-style coffee shop will feature many of LaTour’s freshly baked pastries and delicacies complimented by a large selection of high quality coffees and coffee beverages, teas, milk shakes, frozen slushies, and smoothies – and, of course – free wireless internet service and the best customer service in town. The grand opening is anticipated to be early this summer, so be sure to visit their website for more information.