Blaze Glocar doesn’t know exactly when he decided to become an executive chef because the idea came to him so long ago.

The teen began cooking for his fellow Boy Scouts in Troop 72 when he was about 12. His repertoire of dishes has become considerably more complicated and tasty since then.

“Mom and Dad both like to cook so cooking got more interesting,” Blaze said. “We did our own version of Iron Chef. Me and Dad against Mom and Jacob (Cobb).”

Blaze’s friends and neighbors judged his culinary creations. The winner got bragging rights until the next contest. The challenge became as much a passion as a game. Two years ago, Blaze joined the staff at L&L Bar-B-Q, working during the summers and his time off from high school.

“He’s a good kid and he’s done a lot at the restaurant,” said Leonard Anzaldua, owner of L&L’s. “Hopefully, he’ll bring his talent back to Refugio.”

This summer, Blaze started looking for a culinary school. The Refugio senior toured the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin and like what he saw. He filled out an application and was accepted the same day.

Recently, the school invited the young man to compete for a scholarship. The first step was to submit an essay about his interest, desire and passion for wanting to become a chef.

The essay landed him in the Panier du Marché Cuisine Scholarship Competition on Dec. 6. With one other exception, everyone in the competition was older and more seasoned as cooks.

His opponents were full-time cooks at various restaurants around the state. Most had enrolled in the school to become certified as executive chefs.

Blaze says the contestants were only allowed to bring knives to the competition. All the ingredients were provided in a market basket. Commercial utensils and cookware were also supplied for the contest.

Undaunted by the skill of the professional cooks, the high school student prepared chicken parmesan with wild rice, sautéed mushrooms and spinach, and a fruit salad.

The high school student says he’s eager to learn the culinary skills taught at the school.

“My dish was good but it didn’t have the professional quality or the complicated sauces I’d like to learn to make,” he says.

Blaze may not have won the grand prize in the competition but the experience was valuable for the high school student and whetted his appetite to learn more about the craft.

“The scholarship winners were more familiar with the industrial equipment and they used complicated sauces with their dishes,” he said. “They plated their food better than I did.”

The judge complimented him on his workplace cleanliness and his impeccable food handling techniques. He also didn’t come away empty handed.

Blaze was awarded a monogrammed chefs jacket, a professional grade knife, a certificate for culinary books and a certificate of merit for achievement and participation.

“My plans are to study at the school in Austin for two years and spend the next two years in Tokyo, Japan where the school has a branch,” Blaze said. “I like the Asian style of cooking and want to learn more about it.”

His current favorite dish is chicken lettuce wraps.

“Lettuce wraps are actually an appetizer but I use them as a main dish,” he says. “It’s a stir-fry dish of chicken breast, mushrooms, water chestnuts, honey, lemon juice and herbs.”

The student also participated in the last cooking school at L&L’s in November, “Easy Thanksgiving,” with Chef Henan Roseman, of Nordstrom’s Bistro Cafe in La Cantera in San Antonio.

His chicken wraps may be featured at the next school at the local restaurant on Jan. 14.