Bayport-Blue Point High School senior Taylor DiBiase competed in the American Culinary Federation’s Northeast Regional Qualifier Student Pastry Chef of the Year competition in Buffalo. As the first high school student to ever compete in a competition at this level, she placed fourth with a bronze medal.
With the help and guidance of her culinary arts teachers at Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Chefs Spyridon Giannakoupoulos and Matt Kozak, Taylor prepared for the competition since November to build a menu and put together a speed rack with equipment and recipe testing. At the competition, she was tasked with creating a dish comprised of banana, orange and chocolate.
Her winning dish included an orange and ginger cake with blood orange compote, banana gnocchi with dark rum sauce, a spiced banana doughnut, dark chocolate ice cream atop chocolate feuilletine soil with orange blossom tuile, orange creme anglaise, blood orange syrup and piped chocolate décor.
Additionally, Taylor was recognized by the local American Culinary Federation Long Island Chapter as Student Chef of the Year and received their winter scholarship.
Lastly, Taylor was selected in the top five out of over 200 applicants to compete in the Johnson and Wales Future of Food Scholarship Competition. Making the same dish of orange, banana and chocolate, Taylor was rewarded a $20,000 scholarship over four years.
The Bayport-Blue Point School District congratulates Taylor on her impressive culinary accomplishments!