Campbell County woman is culinary Student of the Year in KY | Restaurants

CINCINNATI (FOX19) - A Cincinnati State student who lives in Highland Heights and works in Newport has been honored in Kentucky.

Erica Johnson, who attends Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute, was named the Kentucky Restaurant Association’s Student of the Year during a recent ceremony in Louisville.  Johnson, who lives in Highland Heights, is currently finishing a double major in Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts at the Midwest Culinary Institute (MCI).  She also works at the Hofbrauhaus in Newport.

“Erica deserves congratulations for a job well done,” said Chef John Kinsella, who along with MCI Chef James Myatt nominated Erica for the Kentucky Restaurant Association Award.

Kinsella and Myatt noted that Johnson has already built an impressive resume, one that extends across the full range of Cincinnati State’s kitchens to the world well beyond the campus.

Last April she earned a designation from the American Culinary Federation as a Certified Pastry Culinarian.  She had previously earned an ACF bronze medal in a wedding cake competition, a Shriners' award in a 2009 Gingerbread House competition, and is a two-time scholarship recipient from Cincinnati State’s “1 Night, 12 Kitchens” event. 

A member of Phi Theta Kappa (the national honors society) and a volunteer for the Special Olympics, she has studied Spanish at Northern Kentucky University, as well as American Sign Language at Cincinnati State. She honed her Spanish language skills during mission trips to Belize, Mexico.

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