Creating the next steak burrito

WORLAND - Worland High School culinary students worked this week to complete their steak burrito creation to compete in the annual Taco John's Culinary Cook Off.

Instructor Brenda Trippel said the students are completing the challenge for a class assignment and then they can determine if they want to submit their creation to the Taco John contest. Students worked together in teams of two to create a new steak burrito, using ingredients that Taco John's has not already tried.

This year, Taco John's introduced their innovative lineup of Sirloin Steak Burritos including Cheesesteak, Sriracha, Meat & Potato, and the Steak & Shrimp burrito. For breakfast, there's the Breakfast Triple Meat burrito and the Breakfast Steak & Potato burrito.

This year's culinary

challenge is to come up with an innovative seventh Sirloin Steak Burrito. Without giving away full recipes, Trippel said some of the creations have included a variety of spice combinations, nacho cheese, bacon, avocados, potato olés, chorizo and a variety of vegetables.

WHS students began the project on Tuesday and created their burritos for the first time. On Wednesday they analyzed their creation and made adjustments as needed. Thursday was the second trial run for their creations.

They will finalize their creations for the class project on Tuesday and those wanting to submit their creations for the competition must have their packets ready by Friday, Trippel said. The assignment and packet for Taco John's including a list of ingredients and the recipe, photos of the product being made and final product and a cost analysis including how much it cost to make and how much the item would cost the consumer.

She said the assignment, whether or not the students submit entries into the competition, gives them a chance to use creating thinking skills and learn about issues of running a food business, including marketing, knowing your target audience, cost analysis and the appearance and presentation of the food.

The students have also been gaining feedback from other students who have sampled their creations.

Finalists in the contest will be invited to Cheyenne for a cook-off. The winning team earns $500 for each member and the runner-up earns a $250 scholarship for each member.

In 2015, a three-member team from Worland High School, Christina Isbell, Cassie Christensen and Leeausha Fronk, won the Taco-John cook-off when they developed a new twist on an old classic - the spicy buffalo chicken bacon roll.

In an interview in 2015, Taco John's vice president for menu strategy and innovation Bob Karisny said, "We invite high schools in Wyoming and northern Colorado to participate in developing a menu item on the Taco John's menu."

He said, "What we do is we share a lot of information with them so they can fully understand what it entails to create (a menu item)," adding that Taco John's goes over what it takes to create a fast food item, what it takes to be a fast food employee, what equipment and ingredients it takes and the costs involved.

"What we are trying to do and share with the teachers and students is the discipline we go through so they can do that as a learning experience as well as an opportunity for us to not only see what students that age will eat, because typically they won't make a menu item they wouldn't want to eat themselves, but also to give them the opportunity to have their menu item featured in a Taco John restaurant," Karisny said.

Taco John's started in 1968 in Cheyenne. Today Taco John's operates and franchises nearly 400 restaurants in 23 states, including in Worland and Thermopolis.