With a New Competition Format

and nearly $1,000,000 in Scholarships Awarded

Johnson & Wales University Calls for Entries in its 18^th Annual

“ National High School Chef of the Year” contest

University Raising Awareness of Teen Obesity with Healthy Heritage Recipe Requirement

CHARLOTTE, NC — December 6, 2006 — For the first time in its 18 year history, Johnson & Wales University is allowing high school students from freshmen through seniors to enter its National High School Chef of the Year contest. With nearly one million dollars in total scholarship awards, the grand prize winners—in both the dinner and dessert senior division categories—will receive full-tuition scholarships and a trip to New York for a private cooking lesson with celebrity chef, author, and J&W grad Tyler Florence ‘94. In addition, the first three-hundred participants who submit complete entries will receive a $1,000 one-time tuition grant upon enrolling at the University.  

For the 2007 competition, Johnson & Wales aims to increase awareness of teen obesity by requiring high school students from the U.S. to submit a dinner or dessert recipe that is nutritionally balanced according to the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) dietary guidelines.   Contestants must create an entrée or dessert using an original recipe, which incorporates either their family heritage (i.e. nationality, etc.) or a recipe with a strong, appealing ethnicity.   The top ten entrants in both the dinner and dessert categories of the senior division will be flown to Johnson & Wales’ Charlotte campus during the weekend of March 16-18, 2007, to prepare their dishes for a panel of judges, including chefs, food writers, and industry leaders.   Previous judges have included Roland Mesnier, executive pastry chef at the White House for the Carter, Reagan, Clinton and both Bush administrations; and Sara Moulton, executive chef at Gourmet magazine, host of “Sara’s Secrets” on Television Food Network.

In the junior and senior competition the following 20 prizes will be awarded:

·          The grand-prize winner in each category will be awarded a renewable full-tuition scholarship to Johnson & Wales (valued at over $75,000).

·          Each first runner-up will be awarded a $7,500 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $30,000).

·          Each second runner-up a $5,000 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $20,000).

·          All other finalists will receive $3,500 renewable tuition scholarships (valued at up to $14,000).

In the freshman and sophomore competition the following 20 prizes will be awarded:

·          The grand-prize winner in each category will receive a $5,000 renewable scholarship to Johnson & Wales (valued at up to $20,000).  

·          Each first runner-up will be awarded a $4,000 renewable tuition scholarship (valued at up to $16,000).

·          Each second runner-up a $3,000 renewable tuition scholarship (valued up to $12,000).  

·          In addition, the remaining finalists will be awarded a one-time grant of $1,000.

·          All finalists will receive a free Career Explorations © Summer Program at J &W.

·          Grand prize winners, first runner-ups, and second runner-ups will also receive a demonstration from a J&W chef at their school.

Any student who uses strawberries in their recipe will be eligible for additional scholarship dollars from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association. Three one-time scholarships — in the amounts of $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000 will be awarded to the three students deemed to have used strawberries most creatively.

Jack Hogan, from Portsmouth , NH , was the grand prize winner of last year’s dinner category. In addition to his full-tuition scholarship, Jack traveled this September to New York , where he toured the Food Network studios, and met with J&W grad and Food Network personality Tyler Florence ’94.   Jack says:

“Upon first hearing about the 2006 competition, I was eager to create and submit my recipe, imagining how great it would be to win.   The mindset of, “things like this don’t happen to me,” was in the back of my mind, but still I entered with hope for success.   Winning the J&W recipe contest helped reinforce the fact that anything is possible.   With dedication, confidence, and the will to succeed you can make any of your dreams come true.   Johnson and Wales has a long history of providing individuals opportunities for success.   And thanks to this I am now one step closer to making my dream of someday becoming a great chef a reality.”

Tyler Florence, a long-time supporter of the competition, says:

“The scholarships awarded through the Johnson & Wales National High School Chef of the Year contest enable students to finance their education and realize their culinary dreams, and I wish everyone success in creating entries for this year’s challenge.”

Additional contest details and guidelines can be found at:   http://culinary.jwu.edu/admissions/recipe.php

Students may request entry forms by calling the J&W Charlotte Admissions Office at 1-866-598-2427 or by writing directly to: Johnson & Wales National High School Chef of the Year contest, Admissions Office, Johnson & Wales University, 801 West Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28202, or via e-mail, at: NatlHSChefoftheYearContest@jwu.edu.

Forms are also available online at: http://www.jwu.edu/admiss/scholarships/sch_cont.htm.

In planning their entries, applicants should follow the nutrition guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association; some helpful tips from the organizations are included with the official entry form.   All completed entries must be postmarked or received via e-mail by February 15, 2007.

Johnson & Wales — America ’s Career University® – was founded in 1914. It is a private, non-profit, accredited institution offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, food service, education, hospitality and technology. Preparing students for successful careers is the cornerstone of the University’s educational philosophy. A benchmark of the University has been its 27 consecutive year employment record - within 60 days of graduation, 98% of its students from the 50 states have jobs in their chosen career field. With an enrollment of nearly 16,000 students, Johnson & Wales maintains campuses in Providence , R.I. , North Miami , Fla. , and Denver , Colo. In September 2004, it opened its newest campus in Charlotte , N.C. For more information about Johnson & Wales University , visit www.jwu.edu.

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