Student's Dessert Wins Scholarship

February 24, 2006
Report By Courant Staff

Although she did not win the top prize, a high school student from Hartford won $15,500 in scholarships in a national recipe contest in North Carolina last weekend.

Casandra Guzman, a senior at A.I. Prince Technical High School, was one of nine finalists in the dessert category of the National High School Culinary Challenge sponsored by Johnson & Wales University.

The grand prize in that category, a full scholarship worth more than $80,000, went to Angelica DeRobles of San Jose, Calif.

All finalists were awarded scholarships.

"It was a wonderful experience. I loved every minute of it," said Guzman, who received a four-year scholarship to Johnson & Wales valued at $14,000 plus a $1,500 prize from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association for her strawberry flan recipe.

Guzman, 18, was selected as a finalist for her low-fat dessert "Strawberry Flan with a Trio of Sauces accompanied by a Tuile." A tuile is a thin, crisp cookie.

After graduating from Prince Tech, she plans to study bakery and pastry arts at Johnson & Wales in Providence.