North Georgia Technical College Culinary Arts student Hannah Nelson of Blue Ridge recently won first place in Restaurant Service during the 2022 SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference held in Atlanta.
Nelson advanced to nationals after winning gold at the Georgia SkillsUSA conference in February 2022.
Born and raised in the mountains of Northeast Georgia, Nelson had a desire to help others by pursuing a career in the medical field. Unfortunately, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought those dreams to a grinding halt as families sheltered in place and educational opportunities, particularly those in the medical field, were heavily impacted.
Nelson chose to spend much of her time at home exploring and pursuing her favorite hobby – cooking. However, as she began to cook for her family regularly, she discovered that cooking was much more of a passion than a hobby.
Ultimately, that discovery led Nelson to enroll in the Culinary Arts program at NGTC where she was given the opportunity to compete in SkillsUSA.
The Restaurant Service competition focused on skills required in the front of the house in a fine dining establishment. Contestants were tested on sanitation, table set-up, napkin folding, understanding of the steps of service, and overall presentation.
Additionally, post-secondary contestants were required to create a mocktail for judging. Nelson was confident in her performance but knew the competition was fierce.
In addition to a gold medal, Nelson was awarded several pieces of culinary equipment and a full scholarship to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. She will complete her training at NGTC in fall 2022 and will then attend the culinary institute for an additional two years of training.
NGTC Currahee Campus Director/Culinary Arts Instructor Alex Bladowski and Currahee Campus Department Chair/Culinary Arts Instructor Chris Bladowski served as Nelson’s faculty advisors.
“On behalf of North Georgia Technical College, we are very proud of Ms. Nelson and commend her on this outstanding achievement,” said NGTC President John Wilkinson. “We would also like to congratulate Hannah’s instructors and faculty advisors. Hannah’s success highlights their commitment to quality education and helping their students succeed. We know Hannah will do great things in the future.”
Photography student Jarrod Coffey of Martinez also competed in the Photography competition and represented NGTC at the national SkillsUSA conference. NGTC Photography Program Director/Instructor Jim Loring and Photography Instructor Melissa Henderson served as Coffey’s faculty advisors
