Culinary arts students from around the Division competed in the 2026 High School Culinary Challenge (HSCC) again this year, showcasing their impressive talents and gaining recognition at the event hosted by the Canadian Culinary Federation Edmonton.
Bev Facey Community High's bronze medal winning team from left to right: Ashlyn Mok, Grade 11; Kara Mah, Grade 12; and Levi Burdett, Grade 11.
Ardrossan Junior Senior High, Bev Facey Community High, Campus EIPS, Fort Saskatchewan High, Salisbury Composite High and Vegreville Composite High all sent highly accomplished student culinary teams, with Bev Facey Community High -- which included Kara Mah, Grade 12, Levi Burdett, Grade 11 and Ashlyn Mok, Grade 11 -- winning bronze for a third straight year.
"I'm so proud of all the EIPS teams who showcased their incredible talent and created delicious dishes at this year's High School Culinary Competition," says Colleen Holowaychuk, the Board Chair of EIPS. "It's wonderful watching students be awarded for their creations on a big stage. Seeing all the hard work that EIPS culinary arts students have dedicated to their craft is nothing short of inspiring."
This year's HSCC comprised 17 teams from senior highs around the Edmonton region who competed in the challenge. Each three-member team prepared a three-course meal -- complete with an appetizer, entrée and dessert. A panel of six judges, made up of accomplished professional chefs, then evaluated the dishes using seven marking criteria: sanitation, timing, temperature, organization, presentation, preparation and, of course, taste. Overall, the judges were impressed with the calibre and skill level of EIPS' teams, especially Bev Facey's bronze medal winners.
"It's stressful to compete, but it's also a lot of fun," says Kara Mah, a Grade 12 culinary student at Bev Facey and HSCC 2026 bronze medal winner. "I love my team. It was great that I had them to fall back on and help me out when I was facing my own challenges during the competition."
Mah also received the Simon Smotkowicz Scholarship, which will fully fund her education through Northern Alberta Institute of Technology's (NAIT) three-year Cook Apprenticeship Program. The scholarship is designed to help Grade 12 students who have competed in the HSCC achieve their dreams of becoming professional chefs. "I've been preparing myself to apply for this scholarship since Grade 10," says Mah. "I'm excited to work in a big-scale kitchen and learn new things that can help me become a personal chef one day."
Across EIPS, secondary schools offer a range of foods and culinary programming to students -- teaching them how to prepare food, recipes they can use at home and how to discover careers associated with the culinary arts. To learn more about EIPS culinary programming, and other career education pathways, visit eips.ca.
