The Riverton High School culinary duo of Samantha Gaudern and Kelcie Caswell constructed an item in 2017 that, a year later, is being rapidly consumed in Riverton.
Gaudern, Caswell, and Culinary Instructor Pam Rivers entered into a contest held by Taco John’s, a Wyoming-based fast food restaurant. The contest was to construct a new menu item for Taco John’s. The winning item from 49 different schools then moved on to a statewide contest.
Kelcie and Samantha created the Taco Pie. A meat and bean base, topped with cheese, cilantro, and other various fixings in a taco shell.
The Taco Pie ultimately won the contest, beating out a cinnamon-style donut from students at Cheyenne East High School. The Taco Pie has been on the menu at the Riverton restaurant for several weeks, however, it will be discontinued after this weekend (through November 4th.)
One Taco John’s employee told County 10 that the Taco Pie has been, “one of our best sellers for the last few weeks.” The employee continued, “people seem to really like it, and I think they like that they’re buying something made by local kids.”
Taco John’s Vice President of Menu Strategy Bob Karinsy told us, “We want to give these students the experience of going through the menu development process. We want this to be a learning experience, not just a contest.”
In addition to getting their menu item featured, Gaudern and Caswell each received a $500 scholarship. The runner-up team from Cheyenne East won $250 scholarships.
