- December 5, 2025
Seabreeze students Caley Linzmayar and Stephen Coltharp prepare the food for the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Seabreeze student Caley Linzmayar prepares for the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ady Doherty and Daytona Allen (back, left) prepare for the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
The Seabreeze team: Ady Doherty, Daytona Allen, Caley Linzmayar and Stephen Coltharp. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Seabreeze student Stephen Coltharp prepares the homemade squid ink pasta during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mainland student Edward Flores prepares the elotes during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mainland student Cohen McDonald prepares the potatoes during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Izaiah Taylor prepares the churros during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mainland student Isaac Denson oversees his team during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Seabreeze junior Jillian Trainor competes in the edible centerpiece contest at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mainland's waiter relay team members (front) Kijuan Smith, Virginia Preston and Dasiree Denson, with (back) Kayja Stephens, Leslyan Brown and Destina Simmons. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Ady Doherty prepares food during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Mainland High School students Edward Flores and Cohen McDonald prepare food during the gourmet meal competition at DSC on Friday, Dec. 5. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Kayja Stephens, Leslyan Brown, Jade West, Hannah Offenberg, Elizabeth Bing, Alexandra DiVerniero and Chef Joseph Monaco, with Volusia County Schools. Photo by Jarleene Almenas
Culinary students from Seabreeze and Mainland high schools dished their best during Daytona State College's annual "Sharpen Your Skills" culinary competition on Friday, Dec. 5.
The students faced other high school teams, including DeLand and New Smyrna Beach high schools, in three contests: gourmet meal, edible centerpiece and the waiter relay. Seabreeze placed third in the gourmet meal contest. Mainland also placed third in the waiter relay.
Seabreeze culinary arts teacher Hannah Offenberg said her team put a lot of time and effort into the competition. Last year, Seabreeze placed first in the gourmet meal contest.
"What I love about this competition is, apart from the cooking skills, there's so many genuinely good life skills that they all benefit from — working under that time pressure, working as a team, making sure that they have all their checklist, they're organized, time management," she said. "... I've just watched them grow and develop these skills that they didn't have before this, so it's really cool to watch that."
Seabreeze's team went with a Mediterranean theme, preparing a squid ink pasta tossed in a spicy garlic scampi sauce with rock shrimp for an appetizer, a seared swordfish on top of a chickpea salad for their main dish, and a steamed lemon olive oil cake with vanilla bean and dragon fruit diplomat cream for dessert.
"The kids have worked so hard over the last three months developing the menu, developing recipes — trial and error," Offenberg said. "So, it's been a really long road, but they're ready."
For Mainland, the DSC event marked their school's return to culinary competitions after over a decade. Culinary teacher Jade West is in her second year as an instructor, and after learning about the competition, she spent all summer studying up on the rules and how it worked to make sure her team was ready to compete this year.
"We used to be a very well-known culinary program, and that's just something I want to start again," West said.
The team went with a Latin American theme for its gourmet meal, composed of a Mexican street food appetizer of elotes, mashed potatoes and steak with a chimichurri sauce for a main dish, and churros with chocolate and raspberry sauces.
As a new teacher, West said it's heartwarming to see her students' progress. Two of the four team members have expressed wanting to seek a career in the culinary field.
"Everybody back at school has given them all the love and support," West said. "And, it's just a trial run. It's just to get our name back out there."
