Aspiring young chefs from Miami-Dade County showcased their culinary skills at the 2025 Taste of Education competition, marking The Education Fund’s 40th anniversary.
The event, held at Hialeah Park on Tuesday, featured more than 30 local school culinary programs, with students vying for $20,000 in prizes.
“All I know is they told me to wear the stretchy pants and I did,” said AHA Hospitality Group Founder Andrew Platt.
Competitors prepared gourmet dishes for a panel of renowned chefs, restaurateurs, and hospitality professionals, who judged the entries based on taste, presentation, and creativity.
Guests sampled dishes such as birria tacos with handmade corn tortillas, shrimp and chorizo skewers, Jamaican jerk chicken, and sticky toffee pudding with dulce de leche ice cream.
“So here we have our lamb skewers with different vegetables,” said American Senior High School student Jerome Vartaman.
“So here with our veggie layer surprise, it’s a vegetable lasagna and usually you make a lasagna with meat, but we wanted to switch it up,” said student chef Seanwahl Estevez.
Attendees also voted for the coveted People’s Choice Award.
Judges included acclaimed chef Allen Susser, restaurateur Matt Kuscher, and food blogger Cheyenne Rodney.
“It’s not just food and restaurants. There’s also [opportunity] in TV and charity funds and education and literature,” said Kuscher. “There’s so many ways to make a living in culinary and they’re getting their eyes open to all of those opportunities.”
Participating schools included Miami Northwestern Senior High, Coral Gables Senior High, and Robert Morgan Senior High, among others.
“Every single student can succeed. It’s finding out what it is that helps them want to learn and helps them learn,” said The Education Fund President Linda Lecht.
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