MARION COUNTY –Four nationally-known celebrity chefs will share their experiences with Marion County high school culinary arts students this Friday, November 3, as part of a local food festival.
New this year – chefs will also interact and share experiences with middle school students.
The celebrity chefs are in Ocala this weekend participating in a culinary celebration at the World Equestrian Center. This year’s lineup includes:
- Lorena Garcia, a native Venezuelan and Latin flavor specialist whose appearances on “Top Chef Masters” and “America’s Next Great Restaurant” put her in the international culinary spotlight. Her global take on Latin cuisine fuses classic technique with Latin ingredients.
- Timothy Hollingsworth, an LA-based chef and restaurateur who spent 13 years at the critically-acclaimed and three-Michelin-star-rated restaurant, The French Laundry. His contemporary restaurant Otium is a globally-inspired, west-coast hotspot serving eclectic vibrant flavors inspired by wood fire.
- Rashad Jones, an MCPS graduate and national award-winning pitmaster who calls Ocala home and operates Big Lee’s BBQ. Jones is host of the hit Food Network show “Eat, Sleep, BBQ” and earned the title of “barbeque king” with first-place finishes in season three of Food Network’s series, “BBQ Brawl,” and “Guy’s Big Project.”
- Yohann Le Bescond, who leads the pastry program at Ocala’s World Equestrian Center and recently appeared on Food Network’s “Summer Baking Championship” program. Recently, Restaurant Hospitality named him to its 2023 Power List of notable chefs around the world.
All four celebrity chefs will visit middle and high school culinary classrooms based on the following schedule:
- CELEBRITY CHEF: Lorena Garcia
Lake Weir High School (10351 SE Maricamp Rd., Ocala, 34472)
TIME: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Marion Technical College on the Marion Technical Institute campus
(1614 E. Fort King St., Ocala, 34471)
TIME: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- CELEBRITY CHEF: Timothy Hollingsworth
Osceola Middle School (526 SE Tuscawilla Ave., Ocala, 34471)
TIME: 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Forest High School (5000 SE Maricamp Rd., Ocala, 34480)
TIME: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- CELEBRITY CHEF: Pitmaster Rashad Jones
Belleview Middle (10500 SE 36 Ave., Belleview, 34420)
TIME: 9:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Belleview High School (10400 SE 36 Ave., Belleview, 34420)
TIME: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- CELEBRITY CHEF: Yohann Le Bescond
Dunnellon Middle School (21005 Chestnut St., Dunnellon, 34431)
TIME: 9:20 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Dunnellon High School (10055 SW 180 Ave. Rd., Dunnellon, 34421)
TIME: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
These celebrity chef visits bring real-life experiences and face-to-face interactions to students considering culinary careers. With hundreds of MCPS students involved in Culinary Arts programs, the visits reinforce industry growth and the need to provide graduates prepared to fill positions within the culinary field.
WEC has once again designated the Public Education Foundation of Marion County as a recipient of the festival’s fund-raising efforts.
WEC’s impact mission for the event is to raise funds to support MCPS culinary programs and bring talented, celebrity chefs to Ocala to inspire students and others to pursue careers in Culinary and Hospitality.
Culinary programs are offered locally through the MCPS Career and Technical Education Department.
For more information on the culinary celebration visit www.ocalafoodandwinefest.com/talent and worldequestriancenter.com/.