By Jake Laxen
He returns to the test kitchen with an armful of groceries — chicken breasts and different types of bell peppers.
“I’m going to make a chicken roulade,” said the recent St. Cloud Technical & Community College culinary arts graduate.
Croson, 28, is practicing for the SkillsUSA culinary arts competition. It’s June 22-27 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The new Elk River Coborn’s deli manager — he was promoted in June from assistant catering manager at the Sauk Rapids Coborn’s — won St. Cloud and Minnesota competitions to advance. Each state will have one representative at the national competition.
“I know he is pretty stressed out, which is good,” said MaLisa Vento, Croson’s girlfriend. “I think he does better with some pressure.”
The national competition is straight out of an episode of the Food Network’s “Chopped.”
He’ll be facing other culinary students, including those from the renowned Culinary Institute of America, and Johnson & Wales University.
“(Croson) is a foodie,” said chef Jay Thomas, the St. Cloud Technical & Community College culinary arts instructor. “He’s more willing to experiment than others.”
Croson was inspired to try the culinary arts after watching television chefs Julia Child and Martin Yan with his grandma.
He grew up in Northfield. He moved to the St. Cloud area after high school and has worked in area kitchens at Perkins, Bakers Square, Upper Deck and Buffalo Wild Wings.
“It’s my mom’s dream come true when I said I wanted to be a chef because she never has to cook again,” Croson joked.
Croson said his culinary skills have increased significantly since he enrolled at St. Cloud Technical & Community College two years ago.
Croson is Thomas’ eighth pupil to earn a trip to the national competition. The highest finisher in school history took eighth.
“(Croson) has a pretty strong background, work ethic-wise,” said Thomas, who will travel with Croson to Kansas City. “He’s excelled. He took on the basics and ran with them.”
“They are like his child — he takes them everywhere,” Vento said. “He loves his knives.”
Very casually, Croson uses a knife to dice the bell peppers for his roulade in mere seconds.
In addition to the flavor, the bell peppers add color to the dish.
“Plate presentation is one of the biggest thing at nationals,” Thomas said. “That’s one of the biggest things we’ve been working on. Everyone at the competition gets the same food, so it really comes down to how you present it and how you season it.”
Croson has been practicing different techniques and absorbed new methods from different chefs.
His roulade recipe came from a chef at Ace Bar & Grill.
“With this career, we can never stop learning,” Thomas said. “There’s so many trends. It’s a learning game to keep on top.”
And Croson is excited to test out his knowledge.
“It is fun trying to find different ways to be creative,” Croson said. “I can’t wait.”
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