It was renowned American chef Julia Child who once said, “No one is born a great cook, one learns by doing,” — a sentiment that Cañon City High School junior Isabella Kolman has taken fully to heart.
Kolman recently became the first CCHS Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America culinary student to head to the national competition in Seattle this summer.
For her, however, the opportunity to head to Seattle for the national competition is the culmination of years of playing in the kitchen.
“I loved being in the kitchen, whenever we had family events I was always the one in the kitchen,” she commented. “I fell in love with the culinary classes at CCHS and then found out about FCCLA.”
Kolman spent years rummaging around the kitchen with her grandmother while she was growing up and, as the years went on, the talent began to grow and deepen.
Her formal training in the kitchen began when she learned that CCHS offers a plethora of food-centric classes and she’s taken numerous culinary classes, many of which count for college credit through Pueblo Community College, such as Culinary Arts, Pro Start I and II, and catering.
In April, she and nine other CCHS FCCLA members attended and competed at the state competition — during which she was tasked with making three challenging dishes from scratch in a two-hour timeframe. German cuisine was on the menu and she made a cucumber salad, schnitzel, and spaetzle.
“I worked on a lot of the meat because I’m not great at cooking meat and then I started doing full run-throughs,” Kolman said about the long and dedicated hours she spent in practice.
Her hard work earned her a 84.9 rating and placed silver in her culinary arts division. Because of her high placement, she is one of just three Colorado students who will partake on the national level this summer and both she and her instructor, Kimberly Weber, couldn’t be more excited.
“I am extremely proud of the dedication work and time she invests into it. She pours her whole heart into competition and expects a lot of herself…I know she’s going to give it her all,” Weber said.
At the national level, Kolman will be expected to create a flawless rendition of a pork tenderloin cutlet with mushroom sauce, herb quinoa vegetables, and a composed salad — all within two hours and completely from scratch. She will be judged, not only on taste, but also on knife cuts, correct meat temperature, plating, sanitation, and much more.
She and Weber have hit the ground running, however, and are already hard at work with the kitchen classrooms at CCHS because we all know practice makes perfect.
The journey and stay in Seattle doesn’t come without a cost, however, and boasts a $5,000 pricetag — one that both Weber and Kolman hope to tackle before the competition begins in a couple of months. Kolman has already received several generation donations but, for those interested in donating to assist in her journey, email Weber at kimberly.weber@canoncityschools.org or call the high school at 719-276-5870.
Kolman’s love of the kitchen has been fostered and bolstered by her involvement in FCCLA and, in just a few short years, she plans to head to Colorado Mesa University which has both an early education and culinary programs.
“I would love to teach second grade or … pursue culinary arts,” she said.
Before she can get to college, however, Kolman plans to complete her required capstone requirement using cooking.
“We’re going to do an ‘Overnight Oats’ class, where we teach kids that there’s a healthy option for breakfast,” she said.
However, Kolman also enjoys other aspects of being a teenager in small-town Canon City. She and her two sisters, Hope and Ava, were all adopted by their dedicated and loving parents, associate pastor Loren and Cañon City Hope House founder, Amanda, and the tight-knit family who spend whatever time together that they can spare.
Kolman’s love of food is personifed quite nicely in her job — where she serves up delectable bites at Coldstone but she also makes time for tennis as a member of the CCHS girls’ team and likes spending time with friends.
Even if the kitchen isn’t a place where Kolman finds herself in a permanent career, you can bet she’ll be making a difference one casserole, pie, or rack of ribs at a time.
“Just being in the kitchen and making food and making people happy is what I love,” she said with a smile.
