National Park College (NPC) Hospitality and Tourism students won Best in Taste at
the 16th Annual Charitable Christian Medical Clinic (CCMC) Chocolate Festival February
2. Instructor Eve Victory led her crew of culinary creatives to the event with 950
samples of what would be named the tastiest of the entries.
The class collaborated to create a chocolate meringue pecan whoopie pie, but balanced
the richness by incorporating a sweetened cream cheese filling instead of the traditional
marshmallow. To add to this, the students coated pecan pieces with meringue and added
a dark chocolate drizzle and an edible gold glitter to make the delectable desserts
more appealing.
The team began preparing the concept last fall. The recipe was developed over a month
or two, and was later perfected and put into production before the fall break ended.
Victory said they chose whoopie pies because they are a growing trend in the industry.
“The Food and Beverage industry changes constantly so it is imperative to stay current
and competitive in any venue.” Students assembled the 950 pieces in the NPC kitchen
and finished them at the Embassy Suites where the event was held. Victory said each
piece had two halves which meant the students had to assemble twice the amount in
order to complete their task. “Without extraordinary teamwork from all the students,
we would not have gotten done on time,” she said.
The Annual CCMC Chocolate Festival was sponsored by Embassy Suites and hosted by
the Charitable Christian Medical Clinic. All proceeds benefit the organization.
