The first annual Sabre Cook Off took place recently at St. Brendan High School. The event called upon the entire Sabre community to see who were the best chefs of the St. Brendan High community.
“We wanted to have a fundraiser in which we embrace the culture of our school, and involve as many members of the community as we could” said Alexandra Cartaya, development director of St. Brendan High School.
“The cook-off was a huge success because it brought students, families, alumni, and faculty together,” said history teacher Ray Del Toro who was part of the Hog Dynasty Team.
Seventeen teams made up of parents, grandparents, faculty and alumni entered into the pig roast competition. The teams were able to pick up their pigs the day before the event to take home to be seasoned with their own recipes. By 7 a.m. the next morning all of the teams arrived at St. Brendan to begin roasting their pigs and decorating their tents to represent their team name and theme.
Along with the pig roasting competition there were over 20 entries for side dishes and desserts. St. Brendan students were able to compete in these divisions earning prizes such as class rings, prom tickets, and parking spaces.
On Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. the gates opened to the public and there was some serious eating going on at the grounds of St. Brendan High School. More than 400 attendees came out to try dishes ranging from homemade flan to homemade fried rice along with the 17 varieties of pork.
After judging the presentation and theme for all the dishes and sampling each of the pigs, side dishes and desserts, the judges determined the winners of the 2015 Sabre Cook Off. Among the panel of judges were alumni Hon. Judge Adalberto Jordan (Class of 1980), State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz (1998); Ricky Martinez of Ricky’s Meats, St. Brendan High School’s principal Jose Rodelgo-Bueno, Total Bank’s Enrique Flores, Yvette Coa from Vicky’s Bakery, and Letty Alvarez owner of L.A. Sweets.
At the end of the day the team winning the $500 grand prize for the best pork was Big Will’s Firehouse BBQ.
Title sponsor was Total Bank and freshman parent Ricky Martinez, owner of Ricky’s Meats, donated 17 pigs.
