National Honey Board holds first student competition

Two students from the Culinary Institute of Charleston (CIC), Charleston, S.C., won first place and $2,500 in the National Honey Board's first-ever student culinary competition. Laura Vein's winning dish was pain perdu with crème fraîche pastry cream, honeyed oranges and orange blossom honey syrup. The other winner, John Evans, created a honey-smoked pork belly confit to win the judges over. Elizabeth Freer claimed second place and $750 for her almond-crusted chicken roulade, beet greens and raspberry honey-red beet sauce; and Arlette Park took third place and $500 with a prosciutto and goat cheese bouchée with honeyed fig-golden raisin compote.

(l to r) Arlette Park; Laura Vein; Elizabeth Freer; Ann Segerstrom, consultant for the National Honey Board; and John Evans

The National Honey Board created the culinary student competition program to develop awareness of and appreciation for honey's culinary value and menu benefits in the next generation of chefs. For more information about the Honey Board culinary competitions or to learn more about the National Honey Board's foodservice program, visit www.honey.com/nhb/foodservice.