Students in Cerritos College’s Culinary Arts Program took home awards at the annual Culinary Arts Symposium and Competition, Oct. 26 at Los Angeles Trade Tech.

Two advanced pastry and baking students partipated in the event.

Out of the three silver medals given at the competition, two were awarded to Jessie Lopez and Bum Parks.

Bum Parks took the Best of Show award. Seven community colleges and two private culinary arts colleges took part in the event. However, only one Best of Show award was awarded.

Michael Pierini, Pastry and Baking teacher, is very proud of his students accomplishments.

Pierini has taught at Cerritos College for nine years.

The students bring their pastries to the competition already cooked and prepared. When they arrive they begin putting the final touches on their presentations for the competition.

Students are judged on presentation, appearance, techniques used and skills.

“They put a lot of effort and hard work into their presentation,” Pierini said.

The judges are professionals in culinary arts. They have to compete in the Culinary Olympics in France to become a judge.

The students are judged one standard below what the Culinary Olympics is judged on.

The students get to expand on what they have learned in class and use it in competition.

“The competition is where the students finally get to put it all together . . . the baking, sugars, and chocolate,” Jacobson said.

“Both students are very excited and happy to have won,” Pierini said.

Along with all the preparation that is put into the competition, it can become very stressful. There were people constantly watching the students put their presentation together.

This is the first time the students have won in competition.

“It has Always been in our reach, but we finally got it,” commented Jacobson.