LCTI alumnus to represent U.S. at culinary competition

Matthew Kirby completed LCTI’s Culinary Arts program in 2017.

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute alumnus Matthew Kirby is heading to China later this month for an international cooking competition. The 20-year-old graduated from Emmaus High School and completed LCTI’s Culinary Arts program in 2017.

Kirby and fellow Northampton Community College student Thomas Traupman were chosen to represent the U.S. at the International Young Chefs Association Challenge scheduled Oct. 24-26 in Ningbo, China. The competition will pit Kirby and Traupman against chefs from all over the world who are under 25 and either in culinary school or working in the food service industry. They’ll be the only American competitors.

Kirby and Traupman will compete as a team, working together to prepare an appetizer and an entree, and as individuals. They developed and refined their competition dishes with guidance from Francine Marz, the director of NCC’s Culinary Arts program.

Kirby and Traupman’s upcoming trip was recently featured on WFMZ-TV 69 News. Check out the report!

Best of luck, Matthew!

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