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Wharton Chefs Pass Their Test At Sweetbay

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

vkalfrin@tampatrib.com

Published: October 19, 2008

TAMPA - Wharton High School students Harry Milanian and Ian Goldman stood by the front door of the Sweetbay supermarket in New Tampa on Saturday, sauteing Italian sausage, onions and portobello mushrooms.

Both 17 and wearing white cotton chef hats and jackets - Milanian's decorated with patches from rock bands - the teens handed out samples in plastic cups to shoppers enticed by the aroma.

"Most of the flavor is already inside it, so when we saute it, it comes out," Milanian said of the sausage as Goldman splashed olive oil and chicken broth into the pan.

The teenagers' tasting station was one of six set up throughout the store, at 17605 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., on Saturday to showcase recipes from the students who are part of Wharton's culinary academy.

The event also promoted the store's seasonal items and raised money for the school. The store donated to the school 10 percent of each purchase bagged by faculty.

"We think it's a win-win," said Adrian VanderPyl of Sweetbay's corporate office.

The store's management and chef Edward Bujarski, who supervises the 240 culinary students at Wharton, discussed which grocery items the store wanted to feature, like a new variety of apple and a Black Angus skirt steak.

Then Bujarski and the students developed recipes around those items with one goal in mind for shoppers: "Let's show them how easy it is, that a high school student can do it," Bujarski said.

The culinary academy is a vocational program that trains students interested in cooking and hospitality, said Principal Brad Woods. The students provide grab-and-go lunches for faculty during the week and a three-course meal at the campus restaurant, Chez Paul, for faculty on Fridays. They also cater a wedding each year.

"For them to get to the point where they can develop their own recipes is a skill," Woods said. "I've put on about 10 pounds since I started working at Wharton in August."

To give one group of students bragging rights, shoppers could vote on their favorite recipes. The sauteed Italian sausage placed first, followed by senior Sean May's "signature dish" of Panko-Crusted Shrimp Spring Rolls and a dessert of Poached Honeycrisp Apples with White Zinfandel Carmel served by Abby Gigante."I like being able to be creative and make things your own," said Gigante, who like all the young chefs loves to express herself through food.

Other students treated shoppers to a vegetable stir-fry in the produce section, steak with a creamy wine sauce and a pecan-crusted rainbow trout.

Shoppers like Mirka McDonald, 58, were enthralled. McDonald watched May measure out matchsticks of cucumber for spring rolls against the 2-inch width of the knife blade and questioned him about how to soften the rice-paper wrappers. "They're all just very good," McDonald said, hesitant to pick a favorite. "They're all magnificent."

Comments like that made May and the others smile. "In the kitchen, you're free," May said. "You don't stare at a computer screen for hours on end. You're up and moving around. You're pouring your heart into what you're making, and if people like it, that's the best thing."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800. Keyword: Wharton Culinary, for the students' recipes and to see video of the students showcasing their cooking at Sweetbay.

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