Second-year Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) culinary arts student and Westlock native Katelyn Kuhar has won a major scholarship.
Kuhar received the endowment, one of four offered in the province, at the Festival of Chefs event held at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton on Sept. 16.
“I didn’t think I stood out from the crowd that much,” she said.
“So it makes me feel a little more confident about my cooking abilities and the fact that I have that much of an impact on the people who chose me.”
Known as the Stan Ballard Apprenticeship Fund, the prize is open to second-year culinary arts students at NAIT, SAIT and Lethbridge College and is awarded for academic and practical excellence.
Kuhar was presented with the award by provincial minister for agriculture and forestry Oneil Carlier and she said she plans to put the money towards a study trip to New York over the summer break.
“We’ll be touring around all the tourist hotspots and we’ll all be going for exclusive dinners,” she said. “There’s one at the CIA, the Culinary Institute of America, at their restaurant.”
The award came during an event that showcased the best of Edmonton dining.
Chefs and their teams from 22 different restaurants, hotels and venues across the city, including the Fairmont, two Deltas, two Hiltons, and the Marriott, created four courses and presented their offerings to industry leaders.
NAIT was the only education provider to take part in the evening.
“Our chef introduced us to a few of the high-ranking people there and they were really impressed with our presentation and they thought we showcased NAIT really well,” Kuhar said.
Once she’s finished her qualification Kuhar hopes to take some time to consider her options, but says she has a keen interest in baking.
Cupcakes are the things she likes to make the most and real time feedback on the job she’s doing is one of the reasons she wants to become a chef.
“There’s some jobs you can kind of say you please people but you don’t really get to see it,” she said. “But when you put a plate in front of someone and you watch them enjoy it, you just feel satisfied and makes you feel good about yourself.”
Katelyn’s award comes on top a stellar year for the Kuhar family with dad Joe coaching the Westlock Senior Warriors to their first championship and her brothers Chris and Evan the playoff MVP and season MVP respectively.
But while Katelyn is proud of her achievement, she says she’s not in competition with the rest of her family, rather she draws inspiration from them.
“I just have a bunch of encouragement from my family,” she said. “That’s what really gets me going and I don’t get bothered by what everyone else is doing. If I have the support behind me, I’ll do it.”
