Chef Jennifer Denlinger — or Chef D, as her students at Valencia College call her — cut an atypical path to the American Culinary Federation’s Top Chef Educator award.
But then, 2020 has been a decidedly atypical year.
“I’m still in disbelief,” says Denlinger. “This wasn’t my first rodeo.”
Denlinger, chef instructor, department chair, culinary management, teaches at Valencia College’s Walt Disney World Center for Culinary Arts & Hospitality has thrown her toque in the ring in years previous for this esteemed award. To win in a year when the competition was not only stiff but challenging in ways that only a global pandemic could make it, is surreal.
The regional portion, which requires the submission of a portfolio including the school’s culinary program, course information and lesson plans, was straightforward.
Her tasting lab – a popular course with students that involves blind tastes of peeled apples, mashed potatoes at different temperatures and odd-flavored jellybeans – was among the activities that won her the southeastern division.
After that title, though, things went decidedly different due to the coronavirus.
“Normally, the four finalists would have gone to the ACF national conference for the live demo, which was supposed to be in Dallas.”
That event was cancelled, which necessitated a solution that in some ways was far more complicated. One regional finalist dropped out due to the stringent requirements for competition.
“There was no way we could do a multi-camera Zoom presentation from my home kitchen,” she says.
Instead, they did it at Valencia, which required layers of permission and planning ahead of time – along with help from the school’s IT department – cameras, sound bar, microphones, the works. It did, however, have its advantages.
“I didn’t have to pay to fly to Dallas with all my pots and pans and knives and shop at a foreign grocery store for all my ingredients.”
For the finals, Denlinger chose to make Chicken Chausseur with sides of mashed potatoes, glazed, oblique-cut carrots and broccoli beurre noisette. The entire meal had to be prepared on camera in 45 minutes or less.
“I was 58 seconds over, but there was no point deduction because it was under a minute,” she says. Photo-finish, but she emerged victorious. And proud, if still in a bit of shock.
“I never thought I could do something like this,” she says humbly, crediting the team that helped her behind the scenes. She’s also delighted to bring some renown to Valencia and its program.
“So many schools are closing right now and smaller ones across the country aren’t doing so hot….” she says, noting that Valencia’s is a first-rate curriculum. “It’s not just a community college. You can get a world-class education here.”
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