Arkansas State Finals

Culinary Arts
Contest

Post-Secondary

April 11,2025
Bentonville, Arkansas
The Post-Secondary Culinary Arts
Competition is a Market Basket
format.

1. Competitors will receive a market basket

with various proteins, vegetables, fruits,
and starches. The contents of the basket
will be revealed the day before the
competition.
2. Competitors must use a noticeable amount
of each item in their market basket.
3. They can supplement those ingredients with
items from the community storeroom.
4. The competitors will present two copies of a
menu that includes an appetizer, a soup,
two entrees and a dessert custard of their
own choosing following the competition
guidelines. The menus must be turned in at
the beginning of the competition.
 Post-Secondary Judging Categories
Sanitation: 150 pts
Hygiene and Safety
Food Handling
Cleanliness
Technical Skills: 240 pts
Mise en Place Cooking Methods and Techniques
Time Management and Equipment Use
Planning
Knife Skills: 50 pts
Vegetable Cuts
Butchery: 50 pts
Butchery of two Proteins
Finished Product: 500 pts
Stock: 25 pts Entrée: 155 pts/ entrée
Appetizer/First Course: 90 pts Presentation
Soup: 75 pts Protein Taste
Appearance/Presentation Sauce Taste
Creativity Starch Taste
Taste/Technique Vegetable Taste
Creativity/ Degree of Difficulty

Written Menu: 10 pts

Complete and matches dishes served.

Total Points available: 1000

Tie Breaker: In the event of a tie, the competitor with the highest overall tasting
score will be determined to be the winner. If there is still a tie, the competitor
with the highest score on the written test will be determined to be the winner.

Deductions:
Poor/no clean-up and reset of station and/or overall contest area 10-50
points
From SkillsUSA – Uniform infraction 10 points
No Resume’ 10 points
Late/Missed Service Windows 25%-100% of that course

COMPETITION GUIDELINES

 Congratulations on earning a spot at the SkillsUSA Arkansas State Final

Competition.
  During orientation for the contest, a member of the Judging Committee will
review the contest packet.
 Equipment check-in will occur at orientation. All equipment must be
checked in at this time. Equipment will be stored safely until your
competition time.
 Resumes must be turned in during orientation. Resumes will not be
accepted after orientation is complete. The competitor’s number must be on
resume.
 Before the Contest, carefully study the contest packet:
 Review the list of possible ingredients in contest packet.
 Menu: Write a menu of what you will produce
 Write a food list and a timeline including the presentation windows
for each component.
 The competitors will present two copies of a menu that includes a starter, a
soup, one entrée and a dessert of their own, following the competition
guidelines. The menus must be turned in at the beginning of the
competition. Include your competitor number on the menu.
 Please use only as much of each ingredient as is necessary. Return unused
portions to the supply tables.
 Contact a judge to look at your waste before removing anything from your
station.
 You may work on any component of your menu at any time. i.e.: You can
begin working on your stock and/or soup during your knife cut time.
 You will present one (1) plate to the tasting judges for evaluation and one (1)
display plate for the public to see.
 Raise your hand and ask for assistance if there is anything that you do not
understand. There will be a period just before the start of the first session
when all questions will be answered for all contestants to hear. Once the
competition starts, any questions about technique or definitions, etc. will not
be answered. Questions about where to find ingredients and other logistics
will be answered.
 Remember two things – This is about LEARNING, and it should be FUN. If
at any time you feel overwhelmed and feel that you cannot continue, speak
to a judge or member of the technical committee. We are here for you!

Sample Competition Schedule

8:00 am Contestants meet in competition area for roll call. Menus will be
turned in at this time.
 8:10 Every contestant has from 8:10 until 8:25 to set their station with
equipment only. No one will be allowed to go to their station after
8:25 until their scheduled start time

8:25 Open question and answer with Technical Committee – all questions
will be answered in such a way that everyone will be able to hear the
questions and the answers. If a contestant is late and misses this
session, the questions will not be repeated or re-answered.

8:45 Competition begins. Competitors will start in groups of 8, based on

your contestant number, staggered in 15-minute intervals. The chart
below is the competition schedule showing when each presentation
window opens.

Contestant Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6

Judging Time
Start 8:45 9:00 9:15 9:30 9:45 10:00
Butchery 9:15 9:30 9:45 10:00 10:15 10:30
Knife Cuts 10:15 10:30 10:45 11:00 11:15 11:30
Starter 10:45 11:00 11:15 11:30 11:45 12:00
Lunch 11:15- 11:30- 11:45- 12:00- 12:15- 12:30-1:00
11:45 12:00 12:15 12:30 12:45
Soup 12:30 12:45 1:00 1:15 1:30 1:45
Entrée #1 1:00 1:15 1:30 1:45 2:00 2:15
Entrée #2 1:30 1:45 2:00 2:15 2:30 2:45
Clean up 2:00 2:15 2:30 2:45 3:00 3:15

A 30-minute lunch period is MANDATORY for all competitors. During this time,
you are NOT allowed to go to your station for any reason including temperature
adjustment. Coaches/ Advisors or spectators are NOT permitted to interact with
the competitors.

Sample Contest Timeline

 Please be aware of the time frame for presentation of all items. The
time will be based on when the plate is presented for evaluation at the
judge’s area.
  The window for presenting is 5 minutes long. For example,
contestants in Group 1 have between 10:45 AM and 10:50 AM to
present their starter course without penalty.
 Any items presented between 5-10 minutes late will result in a 25 %-
point loss for that item.
 Any items presented between 10-15 minutes late will result in a 75 %-
point loss for that item.
 Any items presented 15 minutes late will not be scored.
 Butchery and knife cuts will be judged at your station.
 On all other courses, the contestant will present one plate to the
judges and one plate will go on the display table for the public to
view.

ALL FOOD PREPARATION AND PRESENTATION

MUST BE COMPLETED BY 3:15pm

3:45pm Judges Critique (approx. 45 minutes) Room

to be announced

SKILL COMPONENT:
Butchery
Each contestant will have two proteins in their market basket to fabricate.
Proteins are to be butchered to fit the menu provided.

SKILL COMPONENT:
VEGETABLE CUTS
Prepare a minimum of 5 different cuts that will be used in your menu - they must
be selected from the following list:
 Mince, brunoise, julienne, bâtonnet, dice (small, medium, large), concasse',
tourne

STOCK
Skill component: Stock
Prepare stock to be used throughout the competition.

APPETIZER/FIRST COURSE
Skill Components: Hot/Cold Appetizer, Salad, Flatbread
Prepare two identical plates of appetizer of choice. This could be a plated
appetizer or a salad.
Required components:
1. Must contain a protein component.
2. Must contain a scratch-made crisp flour-based cracker component produced
from a non-yeasted dough.
3. Minimum of two distinct knife cuts.

CLEAR SOUP
Skill component: Stock/Clear Soup
Prepare two identical plates of consommé using a minimum of two distinct knife
cuts as garnish.

ENTRÉE 1 & 2
Skill Components: Sauté, Sear, Poach, Braise, Roast, Sauce, Grains,
Vegetable
Prepare two identical plates each of two entrees of choice following the guidelines
below:
Vegetables and starches should also demonstrate different cooking methods. A
minimum of 4 different cooking methods must be used in the two entrees.

Entrée 1:
Protein: Seared, sautéed or roasted
Vegetable: Boiled or blanched
Starch: Steamed or roasted
Sauce: Variation or derivative of a Mother Sauce
Entrée 2:
Protein; Braised or poached
Vegetable: At least two vegetables displaying distinct knife cuts
Starch: Simmered grain, pilaf, or risotto
Sauce: Fortified reduction of braising liquid, nage or vin Blanc

**NEW for 2025 Competition**

DESSERT
Skill Components: Baking, Custard, Fruit
Prepare two identical plates of basic custard following guidelines below. May be
served hot or cold. Serve in soup cups and garnish with fruit.

Custard Recipe
2 cup Milk
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Heat milk until just bubbling at the edge of the pan. Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla. Pour
a small amount of hot milk into egg mixture to temper. Whisk continuously while slowly adding
the remaining milk. Pour mixture into cups. Cook in a water bath at 325°F (163° C) for 45
minutes or until set.

Alternate method:
Start a double boiler on the stove top, bring the water to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
Pour the milk into a bowl and place bowl of milk on top of a double boiler over simmering
water. Stir occasionally until milk is heated through.
Beat eggs in a large bowl until light. Add sugar and mix well. Temper the egg mixture with a
small portion of hot milk into egg mixture, whisking constantly, until warmed and thinned. Pour
mixture slowly back into hot milk, whisking constantly.
Cook and stir until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. An instant read
thermometer inserted into custard should read 180° F (82° C). Remove from heat and stir in
vanilla.
Transfer custard to cups and serve warm

SkillsUSA Culinary Arts

Post-Secondary Competition 2025
Potential Market Baskets

The selected market basket will be revealed during orientation on April 11, 2025.
Ingredients subject to change based on availability. Ingredients will be substituted with
similar products if necessary.
3 ea. Plum tomatoes
3 oz Lentils
Mystery Basket 1 4 oz Cremini
1 ea. 3 lb. Chicken mushrooms
1 whole Tilapia 1½ lb. 2 oz Blueberries
2 oz. Chicken liver
8 oz Sugar snap Peas
½ head Cauliflower
4 oz. Pearl onions
1 lb. Parsnip
 Olive Oil
Dijon Mustard
Mystery Basket 3 Mustard, wholegrain
1 ea. 3 lb. Chicken
Almonds
1 lb. Pork Tenderloin
2 oz. Firm Tofu Walnuts
6 oz. Haricot vert Tomato Puree
½ head Cauliflower Base, Chicken
4 oz Shiitake Mushroom Base, Beef
1 lb. Yellow Squash Assorted Spices
Mystery Basket 2 1 lb. Red (b) potatoes
1 ea. 3 lb. Chicken 3 oz. Lentils
Dairy Fre
2 lb. Beef Foreshank 3 ea. Plum tomatoes
Butter
1 oz Ground turkey 2 oz Blueberries
6 oz. Haricot vert Milk, Whole
4 oz. Corn Meal Cheese, Cheddar - shredded
4 oz Shiitake Mushroom Cheese, parmesan
1 head Romaine lettuce Heavy, Cream
8 oz. Parsnips
1 lb. Red (b) potatoes
3 ea. Plum tomatoes
2 oz Blueberries

**All Items are subject to change based on availability*

DRY
Wine, White
Wine, Red
Vinegar, White
Vinegar, Red
Vinegar, Apple Cider
Quinoa, Red or White
Lentils, Green or Yellow
AP Flour
Sugar
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Corn Meal
Couscous
Corn Starch
Honey
Canola Oil