Rockwall high school senior Lara Pullin kept her cool in a hot kitchen and won the $10,000 first prize in the local Best Teen Chef Competition, held on March 17 in the Culinary Building of The Art Institute of Dallas. Lara will move on to the national competition, also being held at The Art Institute of Dallas, on May 5!

The second place winner was Plano East senior Ashley Riehs, and Taylor Kearney of Caddo Mills came in third.

Students prepared a menu of shrimp cocktail, sautéed chicken breast, fresh broccoli and rice pilaf. They had 90 minutes to prepare their dishes, and were judged on taste, cleanliness, and mise en place (organization, taste and presentation).

According to judge (and past local winner) Rachel Fraizer, “We had an exceptional group of competitors here today – they all did extremely well, but we can only send one to nationals, and Lara showed that she had the talent and focus to succeed in the national event.”

Lara will join 22 other high school seniors that will travel on to Dallas. In all, The Art Institutes will award over $250,000 in tuition scholarships.