National stage awaits three Greene students
Tara Kinsell/Observer-Reporter Culinary arts student Megan Marietta shows off her marketing display for Bits of Crunch, a snack product of her own creation. Marietta recently earned the opportunity to present her product at the upcoming FCCLA Leadership conference in Nashville, Tenn.
Tara Kinsell/Observer-Reporter Gillian Alexander, left, and Micheala Milliken, culinary students from Jefferson-Morgan High School, will compete at the national FCCLA leadership conference in Nashville, Tenn., this July. Alexander will compete in the entrepreneurship category. Milliken will compete in the job interview and portfolio category.
WAYNESBURG – Three culinary students from Greene County Career and Technology Center have an opportunity to make a name for themselves on a national level.
Megan Marietta, a junior at Carmichaels Area High School, and Jefferson-Morgan High School sophomores Gillian Alexander and Michaela Milliken, earned the right to compete at the 2013 Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) National Leadership Conference in Nashville, Tenn., set for July 7-11.
The girls secured their spots by winning their categories at the Pennsylvania FCCLA State Leadership Conference in March at Seven Springs Resort and Conference Center.
Marietta, who is competing in the category of food innovation, developed the concept for a new food product, Bites of Crunch, after talking to her grandmother, Barb Smith.
“We were sitting in the living room when I told her about the project. She is really big into cooking,” Marietta said. “Grandma said she likes strawberry and kiwi together but there aren’t many products out there that combine the two.”
This led Marietta on a quest to create a snack her grandma, and the public, would want to buy. She began work on the recipe in September. After multiple taste tests and adjustments she had the final recipe. But it isn’t just about creating the product in this competition.
Marietta then had to develop a marketing strategy, demonstrate her knowledge of food science, nutrition and food preparation safety. She had to sum up her body of work in a 15-minute presentation before a panel of judges.
When she was ready for competition, Marietta had a professionally designed box, T-shirts, hats and even a radio advertisement. She scored in the mid 90s out a possible 100.
“I didn’t talk about the process summary page. That is where I lost points, but I have two months to clean it up,” she said.
Alexander, who is competing in the category of entrepreneurship, devised a business plan for a specialty restaurant she named Gillian’s Gourmet Quiches. Alexander, a self-described perfectionist, likes quiche and one day found herself inspired to perfect her own recipe.
“I thought I could make a business selling them. When I did my market survey, I found that there were not very many businesses or restaurants that sell them,” she said. “There were not a lot of made-to-order businesses either.”
Alexander embarked on what amounted to a 72-slide presentation that covered everything from zoning to market feasibility studies.
Her culinary instructor, Dan Wagner, said Gillian’s quiches are “awesome.”
“When I ask for another slice, that says something,” Wagner said. “Her presentation is what you would expect to see from a second-year hospitality management program student. It is what a culinary student would be doing in the future, in the real world.”
Milliken approached Wagner with plans to compete in the baking and pastry category. As one of the students who were selected to cook at the presidential inauguration in January, that plan suddenly changed when she interviewed to take the trip. The interviewers were so impressed by the sophomore’s poise and maturity, it became evident to them that she would shine in the job interview category, Wagner said. Alexander and Marietta also attended the inauguration.
“She is only a sophomore, so she still has two more years to compete in baking,” he said.
The only problem with placing her in job interview was the portfolio requirement. As a first-year culinary student, Milliken didn’t have the body of work that a senior would have amassed. Wagner knew it is a category typically filled with seniors.
“We accelerated that part of her curriculum and started building her portfolio,” Wagner said. “She started to build a stellar portfolio for someone of such a young age.”
Judges reviewed Milliken’s portfolio and then conducted a mock interview for the Rising Creek Bakery, where Milliken had earned on-the-job experience.
Wagner said all three of his students owe thanks to business people who helped them along the way.
“It is nice to have professionals in the county who came in to review the projects and give advice on how to improve them,” Wagner said. “It really helps to have someone else look at them to catch the little things and make suggestions. We’ve been very fortunate to have people who are always willing to do that for our students.”