NOW THEY'RE COOKIN' IT'S OFF TO CULINARY SCHOOL FOR VALLEY HIGH-SCHOOLERS.

Byline: Natalie Haughton Food Editor

Their scholarship competition wasn't the usual essay and letter of recommendation. Nicole Raleigh, 18, of Sherman Oaks and Robert Valdovinos, 18, of Panorama City - along with 21 other students - were given two hours and 10 minutes to whip up chicken with sauteed potatoes and dessert crepes with pastry creme and chocolate sauce.

Both are top winners in the Career through Culinary Arts Program (C- CAP) scholarship competition held for high school culinary students in the Los Angles Unified School District.

Along with three other Valley teens (see accompanying photos) who won scholarships, the two high-schoolers made a clean sweep of this year's top prizes - capturing $151,580 of the $243,010 awarded (teens from seven other schools in Los Angeles won the remaining scholarships).

With her $40,000 Johnson and Wales scholarship, Raleigh, a Van Nuys High School senior who loves the beach and surfing, will be heading to the culinary school's Denver campus in September. Someday she hopes to own her own restaurant and catering business.

Valdovinos will be traveling to New York in February to study at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park with his $41,580 award from the prestigious school. It will be quite an adventure, notes the guitar- playing math whiz.

``I've never been out of the state or on a plane, and no one in my family will be going with me,'' said Valdovinos.

Until he leaves, Valdovinos is hoping to work in the kitchen at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. After earning a bachelor's degree, his goal is to become an executive chef and have his own restaurant (which he'd like to name Taste Life).

While both the teens are nervous about leaving home and the Los Angeles area, they are eager to embark on what the two call an ``opportunity of a lifetime.''

Students had to memorize the competition recipes and were judged on the taste, appearance and preparation of the dishes, safety and sanitary kitchen procedures, an essay, academic record and a personal interview.

In the preliminary competition in April, 29 students from various high schools were required to make an omelet and a tomato, cucumber and bell pepper appetizer/salad and demonstrate knife and cutting skills within the two-hour time limit.

Both Raleigh and Valdovinos had practiced making the competition dishes numerous times at school with their teachers, in training sessions and at home. Although her mom and dad enjoyed eating the chicken, crepes, omelet and appetizer/salad, ``I got sick of them,'' said Raleigh.

Both teens admitted to being a little nervous the first 30 minutes of the competition, but being organized, managing your time and sticking with the routine you practiced were key to doing well in the competition, said Valdovinos and Raleigh.

``I was shocked and surprised I did so well, because most other students had been in the program for two years, and I had only joined in March,'' said Raleigh, who was originally planning to major in art at the Art Institute in Santa Monica. But she loves to combine her artistic talent with her cooking skills (she has grown up around Armenian, Italian and Greek food) in colorfully and attractively presented food, so she changed her mind.

``Nicole has a passion for cooking,'' said Marion Phillips, Raleigh's Van Nuys High School culinary teacher, who has participated in the C-CAP program for six years. ``For me, it is a warm fuzzy to have kids become winners or successful. It is exciting to know you've made a difference in the students' lives - and given them an opportunity for the future.''

Valdovinos competed with the seniors in the preliminary competition last year and won a week of culinary classes at both the CIA in Napa Valley (Greystone) and the Art Institute.

He started cooking with his grandmother at age 12 and by himself at age 15. His favorite foods include risotto, pasta, mocha almond fudge ice cream, potato chips and his grandmother's macaroni and cheese made with tomato sauce.

``Robert is very artistic and has almost a 4.0 GPA,'' said his culinary arts teacher, Eleanor Schuster, at Monroe High School in North Hills. ``When he creates menus, nothing thrills him more than the 'oohs and ahhs,' he receives for his dishes.''

Being a student in the C-CAP program isn't easy, but the rewards and benefits are great, said Richard Grausman, who founded the program in 1990 in New York City High Schools and brought it to Los Angeles a decade ago.

Today the program, which promotes food-service career opportunities to inner-city teens, is offered in more than 200 public schools in eight states across the country, including 23 campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since its inception in Los Angeles, C-CAP has awarded $978,000 in culinary scholarships. And this year, C-CAP raised $300,000 of the $2 million given in scholarships nationwide.

For Grausman, the program is gratifying on a daily basis. ``When you have an opportunity to affect a person's life in a positive way, it is very powerful - and it's not that difficult to do.''

Natalie Haughton, [phone]

natalie.haughton(at)dailynews.com

CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEESECAKE

(Shared by Nicole Raleigh)

PIE SHELL:

1 1/4 cups chocolate graham-cracker crumbs (about 18 crackers, crushed with a rolling pin)

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

FILLING AND TOPPING:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sifted powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup whipping cream, whipped

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 (1-pound 5-ounce) can cherry pie filling

For Pie Shell, combine all pie shell ingredients in a medium bowl; blend with fork, pastry blender or fingers. Press evenly on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate, but not on rim. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

For Filling, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Turn into Pie Shell. For Topping, mix almond extract with cherry pie filling and carefully spoon over cheese layer. Chill until set, several hours or overnight. Makes 1 pie.

SAUTEED ROSEMARY CHICKEN

(Shared by Robert Valdovinos)

CHICKEN:

2 teaspoons dried rosemary

Salt and pepper to taste

2 chicken breast halves

Olive oil

ASIAGO CREAM SAUCE:

3 garlic cloves

2 small shallots, minced

1 teaspoon flour

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

1/4 EACH red and yellow bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons shredded Asiago cheese

VEGETABLES:

6 asparagus spears and 4 to 6 baby yellow squash

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon shredded Asiago cheese

For Chicken, rub rosemary, salt and pepper onto chicken breasts. In skillet, heat a little oil until hot. Saute chicken in oil until golden brown on both sides. Remove from heat. Wrap in foil to keep warm.

For Asiago Cream Sauce, heat oil remaining in skillet from cooking chicken; add garlic and shallots, cooking a few minutes until soft but not brown. Stir in flour, mixing well and cook a minute. Whisk in cream and cook, whisking until thickened. Add red and yellow peppers and cook a few more minutes, whisking often. Stir in cheese. If sauce is too thick, stir in a little milk to thin.

For Vegetables, blanch asparagus and yellow squash just until tender and then plunge into ice water; drain and remove excess water. Add to a saute pan with melted butter. Cook a minute or two until warm. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and heat through. Remove from heat, add Asiago cheese and let melt onto vegetables.

To present, slice chicken diagonally into slices. Place on a dinner plate and top with Asiago Cream Sauce and asparagus spears. Arrange a scoop of garlic mashed potatoes and baby yellow squash alongside. Makes 2 servings.

Other C-CAP scholarship winners from the Valley

--RACHEL FABROCINI, 18, a resident of West Hills, attends Chatsworth High School. She won a $21,000 New England Culinary Institute scholarship and $1,000 C-CAP educational award. ``I was thrilled, happy, surprised and shocked to win something. My mom said that all the times I've messed up her kitchen are worth it now.'' Fabrocini started helping her mom cook dinner at 12 and baking alone at 13, when she made a chocolate cake off the side of the Hershey's cocoa box. ``Both of my parents are excellent cooks.''

Fabrocini's goal is to own her own restaurant. Baking is her passion and currently she makes desserts, including coconut cream pie, guava cheesecake and chocolate amaretti cake, for her dad's restaurant, Fabrocini's, in the Beverly Glen shopping center. Soon she'll be creating them for Sancho's, her family's newest venture, opening in the same center. She'll start culinary school in Montpelier, Vt., in March.

--RUDY ALEXANDER MARTINEZ, 18, of Sylmar attends Sylmar High School and won a $16,000 Art Institute of Los Angeles in Santa Monica scholarship and a $10,000 C-CAP education award.

He'll start classes as a culinary arts major in July and plans to work on weekends this summer at Spago Beverly Hills (doing hot appetizers and hot salads). Martinez started cooking at age 11 - and has taught himself through cookbooks and magazines. He has also attended classes at L.A. Mission College - and Rudy Garcia, executive chef there, is his mentor. His goal is to work in hotels and become a master chef.

``I cook to live and live to eat. The scholarship and working in the restaurant (Spago) are going to push me to succeed in life. C-CAP was a great opportunity to cook and show what you can accomplish.''

--IVAN MARQUEZ, 18, lives in Sylmar, attends Sylmar High School and won a $21,000 New England Culinary Institute Baking/Pastry scholarship and a $1,000 Los Angeles Fund award. Very surprised at his win and looking forward to going away to culinary school, Marquez noted, ``I have a passion for cooking, particularly baking, which I got from my mother.'' He likes to make cakes and peanut butter cookies, adding that taste is most important. ``My goal is to become a pastry chef.''

CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Recipe for success

Valley teens make the culinary grade

(2 -- color) CHOCOLATE CHERRY CHEESECAKE

(3 -- color) Robert Valdovinos of Panorama City and Nicole Raleigh of Sherman Oaks (at left and on the cover), both 18, won top scholarship honors in the Career through Culinary Arts Program.

(4 -- color) SAUTEED ROSEMARY CHICKEN

(5 -- color) RACHEL FABROCINI

(6 -- color) RUDY ALEXANDER MARTINEZ

(7 -- color) IVAN MARQUEZ

Box:

Other C-CAP scholarship winners from the Valley (see text)