Skip to content

EdNC. Essential education news. Important stories. Your voice.

CMS High Schools culinary contest on its way

The following is a press release from the Green Teacher Network Charlotte:

Green Teacher Network is proud to announce its partnership and sponsorship of the STEM2Fork Culinary Competition for CMS High Schools.

Where: UNC-Charlotte Center City

When: Friday, March 11, 2015 from 5:00 – 8:00pm

Six Charlotte Mecklenburg High School Teams led by their Culinary Career and Technical Education Teacher have assembled to compete in this two part competition courtesy of Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds initiative.

The participating schools include:

East Mecklenburg

Independence

Myers Park

South Mecklenburg

West Charlotte

West Mecklenburg

Participating schools have each assembled a team of four culinary students who will prepare three small plate/tapas items for judging – a protein, a vegetarian, and a seafood.  Emcees for the evening are Clark Barlowe, owner of Heirloom Restaurant, and Philip Lloyd, owner Certified Chefs Cuisine. Both are culinary instructors at the Arts Institute.

The panel of judges includes some heavy hitters in the Charlotte culinary world:

Jeremy Bivens, Ai Instructor

Jon Spencer, Exec Chef @ Epic Chophouse, ChillFire, & The Webb

The evening is a two-part event:

From 5 – 6pm, the high school culinary teams compete in small plate/tapas event.

From 6:15 – 7pm, the winning high school students pair with renowned area chefs for a Mystery Grab Bag Competition. The chefs will be announced on March 1, 2016.

Attendees will enjoy sampling the students tapas as well as other food, beverages, and entertainment

Local Food and Beverage and Sustainability are the themes. All waste will be composted and recycled, and guests are encouraged to take public transportation to minimize effect on the environment.

Cost: $35, with proceeds supporting School Gardening initiatives of Green Teacher Network

“Since 2009, Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds initiative has been inspiring students to be involved in science, technology, engineering, and math,” said Charlene Keys, area vice president of operations, Time Warner Cable.

“The STEM2Fork event is one of the most unique partnerships we have and a great way to show kids that STEM can be fun by introducing them to exciting, informal learning opportunities outside the classroom.”

Connect a Million Minds is Time Warner Cable’s long-term philanthropic commitment to inspire young people to become engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math.


Green Teacher Network works to advance academics, health, and sustainability through school gardening and outdoor learning. Green Teacher Network currently engages with over 185 area schools in the Charlotte region.

Alex Granados

Alex Granados was the senior reporter for EducationNC from December 2014-March 2023.