Rowan College at Burlington County’s Culinary Arts team was crowned chili champions at Mount Holly’s annual Fire and Ice Festival. Culinary Director Chef Desmond Keefe and four students, Michael Hawkins, Inaya-Shakeira N. Odd, Precious Gee, and Nancy Ryan, wowed the judges with a chili packed with homemade dried chilies, topped with an avocado crema garnish and served with a side of jalapeno cheddar cornbread.
“So cool,” Keefe said of RCBC’s victory. “There were probably 15, 16 competitors, all representing other schools, restaurants, and that sort of thing… It was very exciting. First- and second-year students participated, and they were all super excited and very happy to be involved in this.”
The Fire and Ice Festival is an annual event held in the heart of Mount Holly on its main road, High Street, including RCBC’s Mount Holly Arts Campus. In its 32nd year, the festival remains a hit for Mount Holly residents and visitors. Vendors line the route to serve food and beer and sell crafts such as jewelry and soaps, but the main attractions are the ice carvers and their captivating ice sculptures and, of course, the chili, hence the name Fire and Ice.
Even with the biting cold of January, thousands of people attend the festival yearly. This year was no different. Keefe and his students staffed the first table in the line for the chili competition, a table it seemed no other competitors dared to claim, and served hundreds of hungry attendees looking to warm up.
The environment was fast-paced, and the students had to keep up. It was an educational day full of teamwork, running back and forth to scoop and hand out chili and get more back in the Mount Holly campus’ kitchen when they ran out.
“Not only is it hospitality they’re learning, but when you’re in a kitchen, you have to serve things quickly and have them be consistent,” Keefe said. “You have to keep making it look nice, look exactly the same over and over again. That’s an important skill, high volume and consistency.”
The Culinary Arts program at RCBC consistently offers hands-on, real-life experience for its students. In the past, they have held a chicken wing contest and their own chili competition and will hold a baking showcase and sandwich competition later this semester. Anyone can attend these events, as well as book a reservation at the student-run restaurant Vaulted Cuisine.
Keefe is also in the middle of rolling out a curriculum focused on international flavors. From the chili of Mexican origin to the cuisines and cultures of the Far East and Europe, the change will make the program more robust. Vaulted Cuisine’s future menus will reflect this.
"We’ve really made some positive changes to give students a greater depth of knowledge and skills.”
