Kenneth Wright named Next Titan Chef | PHOTO GALLERY

ALBANY — Thanks to the strength of his final two dishes, first-year culinary arts student Kenneth Wright walked away with the title of Next Titan Chef at Friday’s second ever Albany Technical College cooking competition.

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Wright narrowly edged out fellow competitor Ernest Small, thanks in large part to Wright’s pan-seared duck with creamy Southern potatoes entree, followed by an adventurous dessert made with toasted filo dough, mixed berries, homemade whip cream and chocolate sauce.

“I’m very humbled and shocked,” said Wright, only in his second semester in the culinary program. “I never thought I could do this. I’m just a second semester culinary student. And, I’ve never, ever cooked duck before in my life.”

As with the first Next Titan Chef competition held last December, the four competitors were given 20 minutes to prepare an appetizer using ingredients provided by the culinary arts teaching staff.

Small looked to be in control of the event after the first round when his hummus with seared sausage appetizer proved more exciting than dishes prepared by Wright and fellow students Olivia Boyd and Norma King.

Unfortunately, King struggled with her chicken appetizer and was eliminated. She would return, however, to assist in the competition.

In the second round, the three remaining competitors had 45 minutes to prepare entrees for the judges, with those points added to the tally from the first round and eliminating a second competitor who had the lowest score.

Even though Wright surged back into contention after his duck, Small was still leading with his entree of Southwestern-style flank steak. Boyd, who ran into trouble with her sides and sauce, was eliminated after the second round, but, like King, would return later as an assistant.

In the third round, the students had their most challenging task — creating a dessert in 30 minutes. Fortunately the two remaining competitors were allowed to choose assistants to help them prepare the dishes. Since Small was slightly ahead, thanks to his overall performance, he chose Boyd, the more seasoned of the two students. Wright then got help from King.

Wright nipped Small by a half a point in the dessert round, helped not only by a solid dish but by some trouble Small ran into attempting to make flourless crepes. Unable to get the crepes to cooperate, Small shifted gears and was still able to come up with a berry-tinged whip cream dessert with mint and lemon zest, but the flavor and presentation of Wright’s dish took him over the top.

Despite the runner-up finish, Small said he he was still proud of the effort he put forth and was thrilled to be a part of the culinary department’s second competition.

“It was an awesome experience,” said Small. “I’m glad to be a part of this booming culinary arts industry. I’ve just got to take it to the next level.”

The event’s judges, which included radio personality Jaxon Riley, the first Next Titan Chef winner Cedric Ward, and ATC Vice President of Academic Affairs Shirley Armstrong, all agreed that the overall event was a success and the talent of all four students who competed was impressive.

“I was very impressed with the whole thing, with all the students,” said Armstrong. “I’m so glad I got to be a part of this.”

Riley agreed, heaping an abundance of praise on all the competitors and reiterating how much fun he had judging the competition for the second time.

“You all did an amazing job,” said Riley. “I’m blown away by what you’re able to do. I had a blast doing this.”

As much fun as the event was, it was primarily a learning experience for the culinary students, who had to volunteer to be a part of the competition. After the final votes were tallied, ATC culinary arts department head chef Todd White, who organized the competition, reminded the students of why they took part in the event.

“The whole point of us having this is for the students to learn,” said White. “We give the students an opportunity to show off some of their skills that they’ve learned in the program and it also helps them build confidence which will help them in the field. These students did an awesome job. They utilized a lot cooking techniques. They are showing more and more progress every day.”

Even though the learning experience was the primary motivation for the culinary students, each was awarded a prize based on how they finished.

In addition to bragging rights for winning the competition, Wright also took home a 12-piece Wolfgang Puck cooking set.

For second place Small earned a connectable Crock Pot Hook Up system, while Boyd and King each went home with an eight-quart chafing dish, which chef White encouraged them to put to good use entertaining friends and family.

White said he hopes to resume the Next Titan Chef competition next fall. In the meantime the talent of the students from the culinary arts program is on display every Thursday at the Titans Culinary Cuisine restaurant, where local residents can have lunch at the school, and choose from a variety of dishes prepared by the students, who also run the front of the house.

To learn more about the restaurant and about the ATC culinary arts program visit www.albanytech.edu.