For Jazmin Koebel and Savana Moore, it's never too early in the morning for pork tenderloin.
Right before graduation, the Papillion La Vista South High school students cooked up a flavorful recipe for a restaurant concept. Together they served Nebraska well in a national competition with it's unique idea, "MoodFood."
"The concept is basically that foods affect your mind in different ways that you don't even know," Moore said.
Think less of eating to stuff your emotions and more of eating to awaken them.
On the menu, Koebel explains certain dishes fall under joy, liveliness, mellow and memory. After months of researching to find out what reactions stem from eating various ingredients, the duo qualified to compete at the 2018 National ProStart Invitational held in Providence, Rhode Island.
Koebel and Moore went up against 45 teams in a competition for management.
Judges asked the 18-year-olds a series of essay-style prompts, said Louise Dornbusch, a ProStart instructor who worked closely with the duo.
Something they might ask is, 'If your restaurant [was] to flood in the kitchen tomorrow, would you continue to stay open," Moore added.
Their response, says their mentor chef Casey Craven from Herbe Saint Restaurant, needs to be seasoned wiith teamwork and some guidance.
"Our jobs, I guess - more so - is to mediate to make sure they're finding a nice balance between both of their ideas. Not too heavy on one person's side or too light on another person's side," Craven said.
So, how where did their homemade idea place them?
Koebel and Moore came in sixth place while setting a new record by earning the highest ranking ever for a Nebraska team.
