East View High School student Peyton Krzywonski has ranked No. 2 Teen Chef in America!
“Congratulations, Peyton… officially ranked the No. 2 Teen Chef in America this weekend at the FCCLA National competition in San Diego, CA,” Georgetown ISD wrote on Facebook. “Such an incredible journey and we are #GISDproud!!!”
Krzywonski, told Hello Georgetown, competing at the national level was one of the most inspiring moments in her life.
“Everyone competing there, was the best in their state, but everyone was still very friendly and humble of what they had accomplished,” Krzywonski said. “It took hours of hard work and motivation to perfect each dish to the best of my abilities, with the help of Chef Jimenez to critique me and keep me calm along the way.”
At the competition, she said, competing chefs were allowed to bring just a few of their own tools, but everything else was provided by the culinary school hosting the competition.
“It was so nice to cook at a culinary school since regionals and state were both in a massive room with only tables,” Krzywonski said. “I had ten minutes to set up my station, sixty minutes to cook and plate, and 10 minutes to clean and do dishes.”
Every minute counted and after time ran out, it was up to the judges to decide who who ranked as top chefs in the nation.
Image Courtesy: EVHS Culinary Arts via Twitter
“When I heard that I was top ten I was so excited, yet so nervous for what place I was going to get,” Krzywonski said. “I knew that no matter what, I was proud of myself because I am only a junior. While waiting on stage I heard third place… then I thought there’s no way I placed top three, then I heard second place East View Culinary. On the outside I didn’t have a reaction, but on the inside I was screaming with joy. I felt so proud and accomplished that I had made it that far.”
Krzywonski said she plans to go to culinary school, and she hopes to become an executive chef or food critic. No matter where she lands or decides what to do, she said she wants to be in the culinary field doing what she loves.
“My favorite thing about cooking, is the fact that you can make a good meal and it can bring people together,” Krzywonski said. “It just makes me happy knowing that cooking something can make someone happy.”
She is grateful, she said, for the help and support she’s been given by so many along the way, especially her mentor Chef Jiminez.
“She has been there for me through easy days, and hard days,” Krzywonski said. “But no matter what, she is always there not just to motivate me, but to motivate everyone to being the best person they can be.”
This is the second year in a row East View High School students have ranked as top teen chefs in the nation.
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