Edmonds Community College student chef Irma Jimenez won the first Experienced Professionals/Pupils in Culinary (EPPIC) competition in mid-April. She took home a Microsoft Surface tablet, and her dish will be a featured h’ordeuvre during the James Beard Foundation’s Celebrity Chef Tour Seattle in July.

Jimenez’s winning dish featured Mexican mole marinated bison, in which she used a mole rub instead of a more traditional sauce. “I’m deeply rooted in my heritage, and I wanted to showcase that there’s more to Mexican food,” Jimenez said.

The competition was a collaboration between Dining at Microsoft, Microsoft’s on-site dining operation, and the James Beard Foundation. It paired eight community college culinary arts students — four from EdCC and four from South Seattle College — with eight Microsoft chefs for a two-day competition judged by celebrity chefs.

Read more, from EdCC staff, at tinyurl.com/IrmaJimenez.