PHOTO GALLERY: National culinary arts champion cooks entree

July 7, 2012 | 5:53 p.m. CDT

Will Kinney prepares a chicken dish that won him top honors at a national culinary competition.

Sliced mushroom and spinach are prepared for use in a supreme sauce and spinach sauté. The completed dish will be the same one that helped Kinney win the SkillsUSA National Culinary Arts Contest. | Yi Gan

Will Kinney conditions a pan with oil before sautéing a piece of chicken. Kinney didn't take his first culinary class until his junior year of high school. He graduated from Rock Bridge this year. | Yi Gan

Will Kinney cooks the supreme sauce with cream, mushroom and chicken stock. Kinney says he stayed after school every day in the kitchen in order to improve his cooking skills. | Yi Gan

Will Kinney plates chicken sauté with a goal of keeping it “high and tight,” which helps keep the food warm. This chicken dish is the first entrée he cooked in the culinary arts competition at the SkillsUSA Championships for high school students. He won first place. | Yi Gan