KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — Several Kershaw County students from the Woolard Technology Center's Culinary program just returned from a magical experience, the 'Cook Around The World Competition' at Disney World.
"I cried," said student Brianna Griffin, remembering the feeling of going to Disney for the first time.
The 4 students were chosen to compete in the cooking competition, which was a very different experience from what they do daily in the classroom. They were expected to make a dish in a timely manner with no heads up on the dish, and even more challenging, they had no clue which country they would feature.
"It honestly helped us understand how we would work under pressure, not knowing what's next," said student Saniyya Boykin.
Boykin and Griffin competed alongside students Olivia Catoe and Joshua Cline.
"We got Africa, and we had, the protein was chicken, okra, couscous, curry power, and that's what we had to incorporate that into the dish," Boykin said.
"So, we were in two different groups, kinda the same team just two different groups. So, one of us made a stir fry thing with many different seasonings, tomatoes. We used our Okra," Catoe said.
It's an experience teacher Bryan Catoe says made them better in the kitchen and will prepare them for their future career.
"It helps them work with different ingredients and pair them with different styles of cooking," Catoe said.
The district still hasn't received results on how they placed. Regardless of how they did, the students say they are thankful for the experience.