Skills Drills
BUTLER TWP — Alisha Johnson, a senior from Moniteau High School, hoped she pronounced words on the dinner menu correctly.
Johnson had just 10 minutes to study the day's specials before seating her customers at The Eatery at Butler County Vocational-Technical School. She had to do her best when offering them the day's appetizer, amuse bouche, and main course, Piedmontese beef.
"I think I did pretty well," she said after the experience.
As competitor number one Friday in the food and beverage portion of the Skills USA District 10 competition, she was the first to attempt the menu that included the Japanese salmon hors d'oeuvre and a type of lean Italian beef.
In the food and beverage event, customer service is key. Each competitor needed to do introductions, present the menu, serve water and give the check.
While she was competing at The Eatery, about 250 students from 10 vo-tech schools in Western Pennsylvania were also putting their skills on display.
Students competing at the District 10 event were trying to earn a place at the state competition in Hershey this spring. Only the first place winners of Friday's events will move on. Winners at the state level get a shot at national competition.
About a dozen competitions busied the vo-tech campus. Those ranged from cosmetology to automobile technology to protective services. This is the first time Butler has hosted the competition since 2003.
In addition to the students, professionals from the field were on hand to judge the events.For example, the customer service competition was judged by the head of Armstrong Cable's customer service department.Mike Barczak, chef in the vo-tech's culinary arts department, said the field of competitors was strong this year. In addition to customer service and food and beverage competitions, Barczak was supervising the commercial baking and culinary arts events. In all, there were 33 students in his area.He said it would be a thin line between the winner and second place finisher, but the judges would be observant. For instance, in the competition Johnson was in, he said the judges would take a close look at how each server greets, seats and welcomes the customers."Imagine the best waiter or waitress you've ever had," Barczak said.In the culinary arts competition, close attention was being paid to sanitary practices, the creases in the uniforms and even the attitude toward other cooks."These kids are doing stuff in that people that work in the industry don't know," Barczak said.Across the vo-tech campus, there was no other noise than the hum of machines where nine students tried to be perfect in the milling competition.Aaron Clouse, machining teacher, said the 1 hour and 10 minute competition would be closely judged for safety and accuracy by Jim Hoffman of CMC and Dave Lotz of Penn United.The students Friday were silent as each worked at a mill or lathe and repeatedly measured each piece.Clouse said students need to be well-rounded to walk into the competition and perform as instructed.The students and instructors ended the day with an award ceremony in Butler Senior High School's auditorium. The results weren't available Friday.
