Get Nutty: Culinary students cook to compete in honor of local hazelnut agriculture

Christina Devey checks the roasted hazelnuts before using them in her Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade stuffed with Chimichurri and Feta.

Last Friday, April 28, the Culinary Arts program held the second annual Hazelnut Competition from noon. to 2 p.m. in the commons cafeteria The judging took place in the Santiam Restaurant.

The contestants each prepared a specialty dish made with hazelnuts. Contestant Alexis Prosper made Orange Chocolate Hazelnut Cake with Hazelnut Buttercream, Chocolate Ganache and a Hazelnut Tuile; contestant Chuck Ito made Chocolate Hazelnut Mousse Cake; Freddy Cisneros made Hazelnut Crusted Petite Lamb Chops; Christina Devey made Hazelnut Crusted Chicken Roulade stuffed with Chimichurri and Feta; and Ben Vanderschuere made Wild Mushroom and Hazelnut Risotto.

After an intense tasting of the food by the judges Devey took first place, Prosper placed second, and Cisneros took third. All three contestants took home a check from the Oregon Hazelnut Industry to promote the local nut industry.

All the contestants were given a cookbook,  “Oregon Hazelnut Country: The Food, the Drink, the Spirit,” written by a Corvallis resident who was also a judge at the contest, Jan Roberts-Dominguez

Story and Photos by Elliot Pond