The Cha?ne des R?tisseurs, Hawaiʻi/Pacific Islands Region, held the competition at on Saturday, February 21. Kapiʻolani CC Chef Grant Sato, Conseiller Culinaire Provincial, organized this prestigious state-wide competition. Six Jeunes Chef contestants participated in this year’s competition—four contestants were from Maui and two from Oʻahu.
After four hours executing the best skill, talent and creativity in the kitchen, Melanie Tancinco earned the title, Best Young Commis Rotisseur. Tancinco also won the Hawaiʻi/Pacific Islands Regional Title in 2014 and later represented Hawaiʻi at the National Jeunes Chefs Competition in Florida.
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Melanie is a alumna, and former team competition member. She is currently working on a bachelor of arts in culinary management from the .
Kapiʻolani CC’s kitchens were the testing stage and much time was spent to insure competition logistics were followed according to Cha?ne des R?tisseurs regulations and standards. The competition centers around a “mystery basket,” where the Jeunes Commis does not know what ingredients will be used until arrival at the competition. The requirement is to create a menu in 30 minutes, then to prepare and plate a three-course meal for four people in three and a half hours.
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Tancinco is currently employed by the . She acknowledges the keen support and mentoring from Chefs Colin Hazama, Daniel Delbrel, Brett Villarmia and David Brown for giving her confidence.
When asked what is different from this year’s win over last year’s, Tancinco said, “I was better prepared this year. I feel I diligently developed menus and did a lot of reading and research on my own.”
Tancinco’s goal is to become an executive chef and travel the world discovering new cuisines. She hopes to eventually settle in Hawaiʻi. For now, she is refining her skills and will be escorted by Sato to Las Vegas, Nevada in June to compete in the National Jeunes Chefs Competition. The winner will compete for the international title in Budapest this October.
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