Peter Koste just about licked his plates -- not one, but four of them -- clean.

And that didn't include the chocolate mousse he ate as he walked the hallways of Manchester High School on Friday showing off what will be the school's new catering classroom.

Being a principal has its perks, particularly when your students create restaurant-quality dishes, and you get to be the taster.

Pam Sloan's first-year catering students had an "Iron Chef" competition, and just like the popular television show, they had to prepare a whole meal around an ingredient that is not disclosed until the start of the competition.

Friday, it was chicken breasts.

Koste, along with four other judges, chose the winning dish, as prepared by the team of Connor Hall, Jermaine Simpson and Alexa Smith. The group made rosemary chicken with wild mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley.

The winners will be allowed extra time during exams, which is a cake bake-off.

Sloan's two-year catering program started with around 20 students a few years ago; next year it will have more than 100. To accommodate them, Manchester will get a full commercial kitchen this fall in a renovated area that used to house technical-education classes. Sloan described it as "shockingly awesome," compared with the small culinary room that catering students now share with home economics classes.

For the competition, Sloan's students had 90 minutes to create a menu and prepare the dishes from scratch. They were required to have a protein, starch, vegetable and a sauce. The students had to use three cooking techniques, and incorporate three types of cuts, such as julienne, dicing or slicing.

The program teaches culinary arts from all perspectives of the kitchen and food industry. Students learn about food presentation, customer service, how to establish food and labor costs when creating menus, and even dining etiquette. Sloan said she tries to introduce students to all sorts of ingredients when cooking.

"A lot of them have never seen fresh herbs," she said, and nowadays, many restaurants are moving away from fatand butter-laden meals as consumers become more health-conscious.

"These kids need to be familiar with how to work that way," she said. "I'm trying to introduce culture."

Senior Marquel Wallace's group made garlic chicken with a vegetable curry and an Asian sweet and sour sauce. He described cooking not as a competition but "an art."

Others, such as seniors Jenny Wolfe and Erika Edmonds, said they've begun cooking more in their spare time. Edmonds said the class helps with her job at a local country club.

"After [taking] this class, I love cooking," Wolfe said.
Contact Holly Prestidge at (804) 649-6945 or hprestidge@timesdispatch.com.