MAYS LANDING – Gathering together and sitting down for meals around the dining room table, whether on weekends or simply on holidays, has always brought people together to share stories, familial commonalities and, of course, delicious food recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Payton Sinou, a Toms River resident and freshman in Atlantic Cape Community College’s Academy of Culinary Arts (ACA) Program, grew up enjoying the taste of her great grandmother Wilma’s renowned pumpkin bread with cinnamon cream cheese frosting recipe. It’s a treat that, over the years, has also been perfected by her grandmother, mother, aunt and now, Payton herself.
During the Annual Vincent DeFinis Restaurant Gala Scholarship cooking competition on September 25 at the College’s Mays Landing campus, Sinou selected this multi–generational dessert for her quick bread baking & pastry submission. Along with Jazmin de La Rosa Andujar, they both earned a $7,500 scholarship, provided by the Atlantic Cape Foundation, that will help cover their tuition and fees for one of their ACA program semesters.
“We are deeply grateful to the Atlantic Cape Foundation for its generosity, which allows us to once again award two scholarships this year—each valued at approximately $7,500—to one culinary major and one baking and pastry major,” said Joseph Sheridan, director, Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. “Each scholarship essentially covers a full semester of tuition and fees, providing substantial support for our students.”
Sinou spoke about why she selected such a time–honored recipe for this competition and what receiving this scholarship means to her.
“I wanted to dedicate this to my great grandmother by making it because I never ever got to meet her. I make this recipe like 10 times every single fall. We have always made it ever since I was little. I would make it with my mom, my grandmothers made it every single year and my aunts make it every year as well. Over the generations it’s continued to be passed down,” said Sinou, who, while also attending Toms River High School, earned her certificate in culinary arts from the Ocean County Vocational Technical School where she studied under ACA alumnus Chef Stephen Glassoff.
“Winning this scholarship means the absolute world to me because my dream is to open my own bakery one day and that's a financial burden. So, by this scholarship being awarded to me, it makes me not have to pay as much for college, so I can put that money towards opening my own bakery one day.”
De La Rosa Andujar, a Galloway resident who graduated from Absegami High School, and studied four years of culinary there under ACA alumni Chef Erin Adaaczik and Chef Christina Martin, has always had a life–long passion for cooking.
“My mom always inspired me to be creative and she never held me back from that. Two years ago, she got me into baking, which wasn't my field, but she got me into baking cakes and then I started selling them. Now, I have a small home–based business in Galloway where I sell the cakes,” said de La Rosa Andujar.
She turned her culinary creativity into a delicious roasted tomato bisque with sun dried tomato bread for her culinary hot food submission. As inspiration, de La Rosa Andujar used a class research paper on farm to table cooking, how one may create a dish that is simple and how chefs elevate the finished product.
“I took a tomato and I thought about tomato soup. That's a pretty simple dish and a pretty simple soup. So, I wondered how can I change this and make it better? I gathered multiple types of tomatoes, probably around five or six, and I made something crazy out of it, plus bread to go along with it,” said de La Rosa Andujar, who is appreciative to have received this scholarship. “It means so much to me because this is something I am dedicated to. I have always disciplined myself to get myself somewhere with cooking because I want to become a private chef one day. That's my dream, while continuing my business and expanding my knowledge.”
The six freshman students – three baking & pastry and three culinary – competing for the two scholarships on this day were judged on their dishes’ taste, texture, portion size, presentation, utilization of the ingredients, and culinary technique. Each student had two hours to prepare his or her dish and 10 minutes to serve for the judges. They were also expected to keep their work stations organized and clean throughout the process while also focusing on maintaining sound and safe standards and practices too.
Judges for this year’s competition included Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Specialty Chef Denise Percoskie, a 1997 ACA alumna, and Atlantic Cape Digital Communications Manager Yasmin Razzaq.
Nearly a quarter of a million dollars is raised for culinary and hospitality scholarships, such as the Vincent DeFinis scholarship, at the Annual Atlantic Cape Restaurant Gala, the culinary program’s largest fundraising event. DeFinis began in the hotel industry in 1932 and worked in many food and beverage departments of service under various Ritz-Carlton Hotel System European chefs. DeFinis also served in the Air Force as food supervisor with the Eighth Air Force Service Command during World War II. DeFinis passed away in 2007.
View a photo gallery of this event on Flickr here.
Visit atlanticcape.edu/aca for more information on the Academy of Culinary Arts.
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About Atlantic Cape Community College
Established in 1964, Atlantic Cape Community College is a Middle States-accredited, Hispanic-serving institution proudly serving the residents of Atlantic and Cape May counties. As a comprehensive, two-year community college, Atlantic Cape offers more than 50 undergraduate degree programs and 34 certificate and workforce development professional series programs at its Mays Landing, Atlantic City, and Cape May campuses. Atlantic Cape is home to the renowned Academy of Culinary Arts, rated the top culinary school in New Jersey, and to its highly acclaimed Nursing program for more than 60 years. Atlantic Cape also partners with more than 30 colleges and four-year universities to offer students the opportunity to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree upon graduation.
