MCI pastry chef will compete on Food Network
April 15, 2009
Megan Ketover, a pastry chef at the Midwest Culinary Institute at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, has been invited to participate in a “Food Network Challenge’’ this month.
Ketover will be up against three other chefs during a television episode that will be taped April 30 and broadcast later this year.
All four pastry chefs on the show will face the same challenge: Build a bridge from cereal and other ingredients.
Ketover says she plans to build a bridge using Rice Krispie treats as her dominant building blocks.
“I’m excited to have been chosen to compete for the Food Network’s ‘Cereal Bridges 2 Challenge,’ ‘’ said Ketover, who is fast becoming familiar with high-visibility culinary contests. Two months ago she was named the American Culinary Federation’s Pastry Chef of the Year for the Northeast Region after winning a competition in Boston, and will compete in July for the national title.
“Competing gives me an adrenaline rush,’’ Ketover said. “And I continue to be amazed at what can be created out of sugar.’’
Ketover, 29, is a 2007 summa cum laude graduate of the Midwest Culinary Institute. After working at the Palm Court and other restaurants and hotels in Greater Cincinnati, she returned to Cincinnati State as an adjunct instructor. In addition to teaching, she prepares specialty cakes and desserts through Bakery Hill, the retail bakery on the Cincinnati State campus in Clifton. She also assists with culinary preparations for “The Dish,’’ a weekly cooking show on Channel 12 featuring Chef Meg Galvin, a Midwest Culinary Institute faculty member.
Ketover said she has been preparing sketches in an effort to get the proportions right when it comes time to create the model during the Food Network competition. The show is scheduled to be taped in Denver.
“The American Culinary Federation is honored to have such a talented young culinarian among our most outstanding chefs,’’ said Chef John Kinsella, a Midwest Culinary Institute faculty member who is currently the national president of the ACF. “We know Megan will make us proud on the Food Network.’’
