Race to Cannes crosses finish line

On Friday, March 23, after months of preparation and several rounds of intense competition, Louisiana Culinary Institute’s annual Race to Cannes competition all came down to two students: single mother Corrito Geologo and former MLB pitcher Pete Falcone. At stake were a paid trip to the Cannes Film Festival and the chance to cook at the American Pavilion there. The rules were simple: Each student had to create a three-course menu in less than two hours with limited ingredients from a mystery basket, with each student having no idea what he or she was going to make until the morning of the competition. Ingredients included monkfish, grapefruit, parsnips, zucchini and more. A panel of judges, including LCI instructors, local food writers and bloggers, and even one of the supervising chefs from Cannes tasted and judged the food. The competition was a close one—neither competitor had even seen monkfish before, let alone cooked it—and in the end, the winner was determined by a mere two points. Corrito Geologo will represent LCI and the state at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Her dishes included tomato and egg whites served Napoleon-style with alfalfa sprout sauce, and grapefruit-mousse profiteroles with cinnamon-caramel sauce. Visit LCI’s Facebook page for more pictures of the competition and the worthy competitors.