RCC’s Culinary Arts takes 1st place in Lumbee Wing Warrior Competition
Robeson Community College is excited to announce that its Culinary Arts program took first place in the First Annual LRDA Wing Warrior Competition held on July 1 during the 2023 Lumbee Homecoming.
“It feels great to win, the team worked hard on the recipes and the way we wanted to cook the wings so it was great to win, the hard work to pay off,” stated RCC Program Director Chef James Ingram. “I don’t think I can truly put into words how proud of the students I am, they did a phenomenal job I couldn’t have ask for a better group to do the competition with.”
The team along with winners from the National SkillsUSA contest will be treated to an ice cream social on campus this Wednesday to celebrate their success.
“Congratulations to our culinary students, as well as our faculty members Program Director James Ingram and Chef Instructor Jordan Oxendine,” stated RCC President Melissa Singler. “This is an amazing accomplishment of the program. The competition they faced was fierce, but in the end, it proves that our students are becoming experts in the food and hospitality industry and shows they are achieving greatness in and out of the classroom.”
Those in the competition were judged on appearance, taste, moisture, tenderness/texture, and overall impression.
“Our wings they were right on,” stated Dr. Johnny Smith, the vice president of instructor and student support services, who says he enjoyed more than his fair share of culinary’s delicious, mouthwatering wings. “I am very proud of our students and definitely proud of our Program Director James Ingram and Chef Instructor Jordan Oxendine. I congratulate them on a job well done, they represented Robeson Community College very well… our staff and our students did an outstanding job.”
The RCC Culinary Arts Department was given $500 cash and was presented with a check for $875 by Scott Tire Pro’s, but our guess is that earning the bragging rights for mastering the recipe for the best wings in Robeson County was by far the best reward our students could have asked for and what will what they remember most about the cook-off challenge.
“I think more than anything we wanted to be a part of the community and show we are there for them for their needs,” stated Ingram. “Winning was just proof to Chef Jordan and I that we are doing a good job with the students.”
The event was sponsored by LRDA, Scott’s Tire Pro’s, RayRay’s Hog Pit, and Mountaire Farms, who generously donated the chicken wings.
To learn more about the culinary arts program at Robeson Community College, please contact our Admissions Office at 910-272-3342, admissions@gmail.com or visit https://www.robeson.edu/public-service/cularts.
