CCAP Arizona names 2016 competition finalists, plus ten top juniors

On Saturday, Feb. 6, 140 junior and senior culinary students from across Arizona cooked their hearts out in CCAP Arizona's 2016 preliminary competition at Le Cordon Bleu's kitchens in Scottsdale.

Thirty-three seniors and ten juniors won the privilege of competing once again for scholarships, workshops, intern and mentorship positions in the scholarship group's 2016 finals set for March 19 (also at Le Cordon Bleu).

"We had an especially strong field this year," says CCAP Arizona director Jill Smith.  "Judges were faced with some difficult decisions with both juniors and seniors, so we are expecting the work at finals to be even better."

Here's the list (it's alphabetical, so don't look for any sub-rosa insights into standing).

Paulina Aguilar, Carl Hayden HS; Kelsey Anders, Ironwood Ridge HS; Ashley Araujo, Glendale HS; Juliet Auld, Mountain View HS; Ivan  Baldenegro, Ironwood Ridge HS; Nneka Boling, Ganado HS; Mikayla Buresh, Santa Rita HS; Erin Cherry, Coolidge HS; Jeremy Claw, Chinle HS; Aaron Davis, Millennium HS; Braelyn Deem, Basha HS; Jacob Degiuli, Paradise Valley HS; Eloy Herrara-Manriquez, Maryvale HS; Hannah Herrera, Maricopa HS; Cynthia Hurtado, Glendale HS; Cassandra Loper, Mesa HS; Raleigh McMenamin Kmet, Mountain View HS; Peter McQuaid, Tempe Prep; Diana Nicholas, Canyon del Oro HS; Susana Ortega, Glendale HS; De'Jea Roberson, South Mountain HS; Selena Rodriguez, Glendale HS; Abril Radriguez Carillo, Glendale HS; Damian Rohman, Basha HS; Sabrina Schneider, Ironwood Ridge HS; Britanee Snoke, Paradise Valley HS; Austin Strickler, Liberty HS; Martina Torres, Carl Hayden HS; Mikell Tso, Chinle HS; Cesar Velasco, Independence HS; Alanis Wauneka, Chinle HS; Jason Williams, Flagstaff HS; Lydia Wright, Barry Goldwater HS.

This year's top ten junior students include Alexia Camacho, Coolidge HS; Kiana Garcia, Catalina Magnet HS; Cherish Hernandez, WAVE JTED; Alayne Kinlecheerie, Ganado HS; Michael Mengelkamp, Liberty HS; Austin Neanover, Glendale HS; Fernanda Ochoa Jaquez, Glendale HS; Parker Sage, Flagstaff HS; Emma Verdugo, Glendale HS; and Tyler Wells, Liberty HS.

All seniors will compete for scholarships and more on March 19. Typically, CCAP Arizona awards nearly half a million dollars in scholarships, including full  scholarships to hospitality and culinary programs at Johnson & Wales, the Culinary Institute of America, Monroe College, the Art Institutes culinary programs, and others. 

Photos from the preliminaries are below - click on "older posts" in the lower left f the page to see more (there are around 200 images; if you don't see someone you're looking for, please contact us!)