SkillsUSA Week: Recognition Day - Whittier Tech Competes at SkillsUSA MRE Challenge, Brings Home Bronze
Culinary Instructor Tjitse Boringa, Russell Poor, Kean Rambo, Alannah Noone, Elliott Dalton, Xavier Perez, Michael Marin Montillo, and Hospitality Instructor Krisztina Perron
As part of Whittier Tech’s celebration of SkillsUSA Week, we are delighted to share with you how our students did at the recent MRE Challenge, organized by SkillsUSA. The competition was sponsored by the Massachusetts Army National Guard and held at their barracks in Natick, Massachusetts. Twenty-eight teams from across the state competed. The prizes awarded were gold, silver, and bronze for creativity, presentation, taste, and overall.
MREs are Meals Ready to Eat. They are the packages of shelf-stable meals the military is given when they are in the field away from their mess halls. The contestants do not know ahead of time which meals they are given to work with. Then, they are to create two appetizers, two entrees, two desserts, and two drinks. In addition to the MRE meals, they are given two 16 oz bottles of water, and the only source of heat is the water-activated heat packs that come with the meal kits. Students stayed after school for preparation sessions.
Xavier Perez, Russell Poor, Kean Rambo, Elliott Dalton, Michael Marin Montillo, and Alannah Noone competed at the MRE Challenge.
Whittier Tech sent 2 student teams to compete. Sophomore Michael Marin Montillo from Haverhill, Juniors Russell Poor from Merrimac, Alannah Noone from Salisbury, Xavier Perez, Elliott Dalton, and Kean Rambo, all from Haverhill represented the Wildcats. The Dalton/MarinMontillo/Noone team was awarded the bronze for taste.
Culinary and Hospitality instructors Tjitse Boringa and Krisztina Perron accompanied the students to the competition. Boringa is extremely proud of how well Whittier did, “If there had been a prize for professionalism and teamwork both our teams would have won hands down!” Perron agreed, “As coaches, we were very proud of the high level of professionalism and teamwork that we witnessed from our teams that competed in the MRE Challenge.”
(Photos courtesy of SkillsUSA Massachusetts and Whittier Tech)