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Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts is proud to present the Escoffier Crown Scholarship Competition: The Gingerbread Structure Spectacle! Contestants have the opportunity to compete for 30 scholarships totaling $65,000. All registered participants will be awarded a $500 scholarship toward an education at Escoffier.

Contestants will be asked to create and decorate a gingerbread structure and upload a series of photos of their work for consideration. Submissions will be accepted from Monday, November 13 – Wednesday, December 27, 2023.

Scholarship Competition Details and Eligibility:

This contest is open to high school students graduating in 2024 and 2025 (seniors and juniors) who are interested in attending Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (Residential or Distance Learning Programs). Students must enroll and start by October 2024 if they are a 2024 high school graduate or by October 2025 if they are a 2025 high school graduate. In order to be eligible, please submit an individual entry and not a team entry.

 The contestant must be a minimum of 16 years of age and have proof of high school graduation before enrolling at Escoffier.

 Scholarships Will Be Distributed As Follows*:

1. All registered participants who submit photos of their work will receive a $500 scholarship toward an education at Escoffier.**

2. Winners selected:

  • 1st place – $3,000 Scholarship (10 participants selected)
  • 2nd place – $2,000 Scholarship (10 participants selected)
  • 3rd place – $1,500 Scholarship (10 participants selected)

**Students receiving a winners scholarship will receive this in addition to the participant scholarship.

 Submission Instructions:

Step 1: Create and decorate a Gingerbread Structure.

Step 2:  Take 3 photos that illustrate your dish in the following stages:

  • Mise en Place (gathering and preliminary preparation of the ingredients)
  • In process (include photo of structure midway through)
  • Finished structure 

Step 3: Contestants must fill out our registration form, submit 3 photos from step 2, and add a title and description of their final structure via our submission form. Submissions will be accepted from Monday, November 13th – Wednesday, December 27, 2023.

>>You can fill out the form by clicking here!

Deadline for entry is December 27th, 2023 by 11:59 pm CT.

For added fun, but not required, share your photos with us on Instagram by tagging @escoffierschools

Judging Criteria:

Structures will be judged according to the following criteria:

1. Creativity

2. Technique

3. Presentation

Winners will be determined by a panel of chef judges from our academics team.

Scholarship Winners:

Scholarship winners will be notified via email by January 15, 2024. In order to be notified, please include a personal email address on the submission form.

Rights in Submissions:

 By entering the Escoffier Crown Scholarship Competition: The Gingerbread Structure Spectacle, each participant hereby grants to Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts or its designee a license to use or publish submission photos without any further right of approval by or compensation to the participant. Winners may be required to share progress during and after their education with Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts on how the scholarship affected their path.

*Scholarships are disbursed to a student’s account over the course of a student’s enrollment in their program of choice, not to be applied in one payment. Students must remain actively enrolled in the program of their choice to receive monthly scholarship payment. Institutional scholarships cannot create a credit balance for stipends. The scholarships in this category are eligible to be awarded together, but students cannot exceed the overall scholarship maximum of $7,500 in a residential diploma program or $15,000 in a residential Associate Degree program. 

For questions please contact Krishna Mitchell at 512.364.5617 or email [email protected]