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PCTI Takes the Gold

Laura Sanchez, Harold Moreno, and Angelina Hernandez

It was against outstanding odds that PCTI’s Laura Sanchez rose to victory from amongst high school students across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, taking home the gold as America’s Best High School Pastry Chef.

The win not only includes a title boasting fantastic acclaim, but also a full academic scholarship for the AAS Culinary Baking and Pastry Arts Program at Monroe College with the added opportunity of studying abroad for a semester through the Monroe Study Abroad Program.

Contest regulations included submitting an advanced recipe and photo for a dessert plate that could be prepared and completed (baking included) within 90 minutes. The dessert’s style and level was to echo that of an upscale restaurant and had to include the five basic elements of a plated dessert (a main item, a sauce, a cookie/crisp item, chocolate, and fruit).

Laura Sanchez created not one, but two portions of her dessert within the allotted time frame. Her incredible skill in the Culinary Arts is to be commended.


Congratulations also to Harold Moreno and Angelina Hernandez who competed in the First and Second Rounds of America’s Best High School Chef. The two Culinary Arts students were required to demonstrate a variety of cuts, from small dice to julienne, segmenting an orange, and tournee. They also had to create an organic salad that would be found in an upscale restaurant. Their participation in event garnered them each $2,000 in scholarship money.