By Evan Sandel
The Scene staff
Three students made Forest Park proud at a competition at the Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College last month.
Wauneen Rucker, 49, got a bronze medal in the cake-decorating division for a three-tiered event cake garnished with large butterfly-shaped confections.
“(The judges) didn’t do a tasting,” Rucker said. “They didn’t care what was inside, as long as it wasn’t Styrofoam. It was all presentation and decorating technique.”
Stuckel, 21, was named runner-up Junior Chef of the Year and recognized for volunteer work and other contributions to the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation, which sanctioned the competition.
“This is what I’ve always wanted to do,” Stuckel said. “I just really love anything (related to) cooking and baking.”
Joseph Nilges, 22, got a bronze medal in the practical and contemporary hot-food cooking division.
He prepared chicken breast roulade stuffed with fine herbs, a white bean ragout, crispy chicken thigh topped with micro greens and orange zest, a celeriac purée with glazed carrots and a sautéed brocolinni.
“I give all credit to the people who helped me achieve my goal, and especially Chef Brian Hardy, and Executive Sous Chef Matthew Roland at the Gatesworth,” Nigles said.
Hardy is a Forest Park culinary arts instructor who oversaw the competition. He is president of the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation and executive chef at The Gatesworth, an upscale retirement community.
Hardy also is Nilges and Stuckel’s boss. Both work in the Gatesworth kitchen, preparing elegant dishes such as veal piccata with white wine lemon caper demi-glace or pan-seared tenderloin tips with wild mushrooms, caramelized onions and burgundy wine sauce.
Hardy believes classes, competitions and hands-on experiences in the kitchen are necessary components of a well-rounded culinary arts education.
“If these guys start getting gold medals, it enhances their skills, which then come over to everyday work life,” he said. “This will make them better cooks and chefs going forward.”
Hardy shares something else with his students: A passion for culinary arts. He overcame huge odds to graduate at the top of his class at the prestigious Culinary Insitute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.
“I come from a very poor family,” he said. “My mother was a teacher for 41 years, a single parent. There were six of us in a one-bedroom house … But (college) was my dream, and nobody was going to take that away from me, and I found a way to go.”
Rucker decided to turn baking and pastry making into a career at 49 after working for the Missouri Department of Corrections for years.
She wants to use her passion and knowledge to give back to the community.
“My ultimate goal is to open a store that will help train people with mental handicaps, such as Down syndrome, to have job skills in the field of decorating cakes, while still operating as a successful bakery,” she said.
Rucker plans to work up to this goal by completing her education at Forest Park, continuing to enter culinary competitions and working in upscale hotel kitchens.
“Not only do hotel kitchens pay more, but there is always some sort of large event going on, where there will be consistent demand for the kind of work I love to do,” she said.