Victory never tasted so sweet. Lindsay Conners, a 17-year-old senior from Herkimer High School has always wanted to be a pastry chef.
During her junior and senior years in Herkimer, she has been a part of the BOCES culinary program. On April 18, Lindsay and her parents, Sharon and Matt, went down to the Connecticut Culinary Institute in Suffield, CT, where Lindsay competed in the Top Student Chef Competition held every year at the Institute.
She took the first place prize, a $5,000 scholarship to the Institute, for her delectable entry, a white chocolate ravioli stuffed with bittersweet chocolate and raspberry, with a raspberry ganache. Sounds delicious beyond belief, and the judges thought so, too.
“Initially, I wanted to go to the Institute’s Hartford campus,” said Lindsay, “But the judges in the competition liked my dessert entry so much, that they want to keep me in Suffield, where the pastry chef training happens.”
Judged not only on quality, but appearance, Lindsay’s white chocolate decadence would look right at home on the cover of Bon Apetit magazine.
The competition was intense, with other entries including tira misu and chocolate cups filled with confectionery delights. It was a timed event, and competitors had just three hours from start to finish, to complete their entry. In preparation for the competition, Lindsay spent the previous week at home, perfecting the art of processing white chocolate through a pasta maker. When she arrived at the competition, she discovered that she did not like the pasta machines that were at the school, so she rolled the white chocolate dough by hand before assembling her ravioli. “It made it a little more difficult, but I still finished in two hours and fifteen minutes.”
Lindsay’s parents and family are thrilled with her achievement.
“We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished,” said her mom, Sharon, “and she is the official baker for all of our family functions!” Whether it is specialty pies on Easter, her brother’s favorite birthday cheese cake, or endless treats at Christmas time, Lindsay can usually be found in the kitchen, working her magic.
Lindsay plans to attend the Connecticut Culinary Institute in September, where she will complete a two-year professional pastry and baking program. She hopes someday to open her own gourmet pastry shop.
Herkimer, N.Y. —
