TSTC Culinary Arts instructor selected for IKA/Culinary Olympics

(WACO, Texas) – A Texas State Technical College instructor in the Culinary Arts program in Waco has been chosen to work with a team of chefs from Canada at the IKA/Culinary Olympics next February in Stuttgart, Germany.

Chef Michele Brown will work with the Agricultural Culinary Team Manitoba on pastry arts. Assisting Brown in Germany will be her son, William, who works at Southern Methodist University and Williams-Sonoma and is a culinary illustrator.

“It’s pushing the limits of creativity,” Michele Brown said. “It pushes your endurance and organizational mind.”

Competition practice will take place via Skype and conference calls due to cost constraints. 

“I will be fundraising,” Brown said. “I have a GoFundMe page. I will be practicing with the assistance of our students.”

This will be the third time Brown has participated in the IKA/Culinary Olympics. She also has international experience providing support for Epicurean World Master Chefs Society members  Patrick Mitchell and Morris Salerno on the gold medal-winning regional Texas team at the 2014 Expogast Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg.

“For the Culinary Arts program, this is an excellent credential for the students to be trained by students on the world stage,” Brown said.

Chef Gayle Van Sant, an instructor in TSTC’s Culinary Arts program, said Brown has a great passion for ingredients and exploring new products, skills and techniques.

“She is an inspiration to our students,” Van Sant said. “She will challenge our students to become all they can and encourage them to dream on a bigger scale.”

Chef Jackson York, a member of the Texas Chefs Association’s East Texas chapter, has known Brown professionally for several years.

“I have seen her not only excel and grow very fast in her career, but influence so many other people she has trained and mentored,” he said. “Anything that she has done, there is no halfway about it.”

The IKA/Culinary Olympics is the oldest and largest culinary arts exhibition in the world. At the 2020 event, the jury and guests will be able to experience creations by chefs from 39 countries.

For more information on Texas State Technical College, go to tstc.edu.