Above: From left, Chef Terry Newkirk, MGCCC Culinary Arts instructor, J.T. Mingo; Malcom Mobley; David LaNasa; Steve McDaniel; and Chef Lori Pearce, MGCCC Baking and Pastry Arts instructor.

Four Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Culinary Arts students walked away with prizes during the junior chef competition of the first Gulf Coast Baconfest held November 14 at the IP Casino Resort in Biloxi. Categories were bacon on its own, bacon as ingredient, bacon as dessert and the people’s choice award in each category.

MGCCC student winners are Steven McDaniel Jr., of Vancleave, first place, bacon as an ingredient; David LaNasa, of Ocean Springs, second place, desserts; Malcolm Mobley, of Moss Point, third place, bacon as an ingredient; and JT Mingo, of Gulfport, third place, desserts.

“I am very proud of our students and I think their level of competition is a tribute to our program,” said Chef Terry Newkirk, MGCCC Culinary Arts instructor. “We encourage our students to enter contests and competitions, like this one, because it sharpens their skills and puts them under the kind of pressure they will experience in their careers.”

MGCCC is the only community college in the state that includes a Baking and Pastry Arts Technology degree option and it, along with the Culinary Arts Technology degree, parallels those of the Culinary Institute of America and offers the opportunity for certification in the American Culinary Federation.