Samuel Robertson Technical School in Maple Ridge hosted the regional Skills Canada regional championships on Saturday, and produced the top two culinary arts students.
The competition takes place every year in the Lower Mainland, with the winner advancing to the provincial championships and the chance to advance to the nationals.
“Students participate to challenge themselves and develop, enhance and excel at their trade skills,” said Mike Steele, Vancouver Community College culinary arts instructor at SRT.
The Skills Canada Scope included cutting and knife skills, breakfast cookery and main entree – meat, vegetable, starch sauce and plate presentation. Students are also judged on sanitation, organization, timing and kitchen poise.
Culinary arts competitors included those from SRT, Richmond secondary. Thomas Haney secondary and Vancouver Community College.
Rayven Abbott-Hillard of SRT won gold.
Drew Morrison of SRT took silver.
Evan Nazareth of Richmond earned bronze.
Other competitors included Quinn Dabbs of SRT, Cameron Smith of THSS, and Martin Huang of Richmond.
Abott-Hillard will now competed at the provincials at Tradex in Abbotsford next month.
The nationals are in Winnipeg in June.
Judges at the regional event: Chris Lee, executive chef Swan-e-Set Golf and Country Club; Peter Bucher, instructor Mission secondary; Elvis D'Souza, executive sous chef Abbottsford Convention Centre; Robert Kraatz, instructor Vancouver Community College.
The Skills Canada event at SRT also featured a carpentry competition, in which students had to construct a saw horse.
The carpentry competition was open to students completing their first-year apprenticeship training in Grade 12.
Students were from Samuel Robertson Technical Secondary in Maple Ridge and Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam.
The saw horse project required students to exhibit accurate layout skills, several challenging hand tool operations, as well as machine tool skills, and be able to demonstrate quality assembly techniques, said Grant Sych, carpentry instructor at SRT.
Isaac Mayville of Terry Fox placed first, while Joseph Pollack of Terry Fox came second. Jakob Banning of SRT placed third.