MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer
Posted: Sunday, March 22, 2009 7:33 am

Cooking food can be a form of art, and that’s what Oakland senior Richard Mintz likes best about it.

“It’s the creative side of life,” Mintz, 17, said about cooking.

“When other people see a cake, they just see a cake,” he continued. “When I see a cake, I see icing, four layers and Hershey’s bars inside with cherries and chocolate syrup all over it.”

It was his ability to see more in food that helped Mintz win the title of Tennessee’s Best Teen Chef 2009 last weekend.

Mintz competed against 14 other high school seniors from across the state to represent Tennessee in the Best Teen Chef national competition in May.

“He was the best cook, whether it was for his actual dish, presentation, sanitation, knife skills of all those who competed,” Oakland Culinary Arts Instructor LaDonna Damron explained.

For the past six years, Damron has taught basic cooking skills to Oakland students who may want to pursue a career in the restaurant industry.

“A lot of the kids that I get want to go into the food careers but don’t have the support,” she said. “It’s almost like a hobby to them.”

But it’s more than a hobby to Mintz.

“I love to cook. It’s a big hobby and passion for me,” he said, adding he wants to study to be a pastry chef after he graduates this year.

His dream will be easier now that he won an automatic acceptance into the Art Institute of Nashville’s culinary program, along with a shot at a full scholarship through the competition.

In addition to a full-tuition scholarship and the title of Best Teen Chef 2009, the national first-place winner, in partnership with Food Network, will be an “Intern for a Day” at Food Network Kitchens in New York City.

The winner will also receive a tour of Food Network’s studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef’s restaurant and a library of Food Network Kitchens cookbooks.

To even get accepted in the state competition, Mintz was required to develop an original recipe. His peach and maple glazed grilled pork chop was picked as one of the best submitted and gave him a shot at the state title.

“It was great,” Damron said.

Then at the competition in Nashville, Mintz had to cook steamed broccoli, a chicken breast, rice pilaf and shrimp cocktail. He was judged for presentation, knife skills and sanitation, as well as how good his dishes tasted, she said.

Having Mintz win the state competition was even better than the food for Damron, because he was her first student to garner the prize.

“It was like having one of my kids graduate,” she said with pride.

Before Mintz takes off to the national competition, the Art Institute of Nashville will bring in specialized chefs to train him and refine his skills.

To say he is excited is an understatement.

“The competition separated those who truly want to cook and those who don’t,” he said, adding it was thrilling and scary at the same time, but re-enforced his desire to be a chef.

“I like the fast pace … I love that thrill of being in a kitchen,” he said.

Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.