The Art Institutes Offers A Chance To Win A Full Scholarship Worth $35,000

PITTSBURGH – Ever dreamed of a career in the culinary arts? For high school seniors who love to cook and dream big, The Art Institutes Best Teen Chef 2007 scholarship competition is for you!

Up for grabs is a full scholarship worth up to $35,000 to study culinary arts at one of The Art Institutes and a shot at the title Best Teen Chef 2007. In all, more than $200,000 in tuition scholarships will be awarded. Open to high school seniors across the U.S. and Canada, the Best Teen Chef scholarship competition takes place on Saturday, May 5 at The Art Institute of Dallas.

This year’s Best Teen Chef 2007 competition entry deadline is February 9, 2007. To be eligible, you must be a high school senior, graduating in 2007. For complete eligibility details and entry information go to www.artinstitutes.edu/btc.

Being a successful professional in the culinary arts industry is about more than just drive, ambition and a love of cooking. “Studying culinary arts gives students a leg-up on the competition when they begin to look for jobs in the culinary field,” says Michael Nenes, Assistant Vice President of Culinary Arts for The Art Institutes. It’s a lucky few, says Nenes, who succeed in the highly competitive field of culinary arts without a formal culinary education.

“Culinary school is no cake walk, pardon the pun, so when students graduate and apply for a position with a restaurant, a resort, or a hotel, they are demonstrating to a prospective employer how serious and dedicated they are to the profession,” he adds.

Love of cooking and dedication to the craft of cooking has launched the careers of several past Best Teen Chef winners including 2003 Best Teen Chef winner Patricia Homma. Patricia is currently in charge of garde mange under the direction of Belgian Chef Olivier de Busschaeron at Nikolai’s Roof, an AAA 4-Diamond and Mobile 4-Star Restaurant in Atlanta.

First ever Best Teen Chef winner Brent Lewis will join Master Chefs from The Art Institutes and former White House chef Walter Scheib as a judge in this year’s Best Teen Chef event.
Brent started his career upon graduating from The Art Institute of Colorado, helping to open an upscale steak house in his hometown of Loveland, Colorado. He is currently enjoying the challenges and opportunities working as a sous chef at the national Chinese bistro restaurant chain −P.F. Chang’s.

Both Lewis and Homma were featured on national television for their Best Teen Chef wins, including the CBS Early Show, the Today Show, CNN and Fox.

The Best Teen Chef competition takes place in two stages. A local competition will be held on March 17, 2007 at participating Art Institutes locations throughout North America including: The Art Institute of Atlanta, The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles, The Art Institute of California – Orange County, The Art Institute of California – San Diego, The Art Institute of Charlotte, The Art Institute of Colorado, The Art Institute of Dallas, The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, The Art Institute of Houston, The Art Institute of Las Vegas, The Art Institutes International Minnesota, The Art Institute of New York City, The Art Institute of Philadelphia, The Art Institute of Phoenix, The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, The Art Institute of Seattle, The Art Institute of Tampa, The Art Institute of Vancouver, The Art Institute of Washington and The Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago.

Following the local competition, 20 finalists will attend the national Best Teen Chef 2007 event to be held on Saturday, May 5, 2007, at The Art Institute of Dallas.

For complete details, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/btc.
The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), with 32 education institutions located throughout North America, provide an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

Contact: Barbara Vilanova
The Art Institutes
412/242-0796
Bvilanova@aol.com

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