She didn’t wish upon a star or whisper it over a lit candle on a birthday cake. Bridget Long put her dream in writing — then into action. On a Post-It note affixed to her bedroom mirror, the daily affirmation during her senior year of high school was crystal clear: “I will win nationals.”
That drive was the essential ingredient for Long to ascend through regional and state level competitions in Maryland, then secure a gold medal finish in Culinary Arts at the 2025 SkillsUSA Championship, held June 23-27, in Atlanta.
Culinary Arts is a particularly intense field: students create a menu and prepare a five-course menu while demonstrating technical skills, time management, professionalism and food safety practices, in addition to completing a written certification exam. Winning the gold medal both fulfilled her dream and provided Long with a full scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where she is now enrolled.
“It wasn’t a pursuit of money or ego. It was genuinely about loving what I was doing and wanting to be the best at what I was doing,” she says. “I absolutely love that competition space.”
Finding Her Passion
Growing up in the Annapolis area, Long’s family settled on a farm when she was 12. Soon her free time was spent taking care of horses and chickens, and helping out in the garden. “That is where I got my work ethic,” she says.
An excellent student, Long mixed traditional academics with career and technical education (CTE) offerings at South River High School and the Center of Applied Technology South (CATS), where she met her mentor and culinary arts teacher Pam Klink.
“One of our first assignments was identifying herbs and I was so enamored with it,” Long says. “I wanted to learn, to create and figure out what combinations would go best together. Every day you can find something else to learn.”
She is quick to credit Klink with nurturing that interest while not letting it overtake her regular studies. “There is a balance. I owe so much to Chef Klink. She is the best teacher I ever had.”
The path wasn’t always straightforward. Long did well in AP level courses, which turned up the heat from well-meaning advisers who wanted her to pursue a rigorous college track. During her junior year, as a member of her school’s SkillsUSA chapter, Long signed up for the regional competition and won. When she came out on top at the state level, Long’s personal narrative began to shift. “She realized, ‘Oh, I might actually be good at this,” recalls Klink.
At the SkillsUSA Championships in 2024, Long’s culinary skills weren’t the only thing that captured attention. The budding chef earned the nickname Skipper from the judges, as a nod to her friendly demeanor. She was also recognized with an award by the American Culinary Federation for her positive attitude.
“I didn’t know what I was doing but I was having the time of my life,” Long says. “Some kids were very locked in, but I was more lighthearted about it because I was only competing against myself. For me, it was about proving it to myself.”
When she placed fifth, Long left determined to finish at the top the following year. She took a job as a line cook at a local restaurant through the fall and winter, while keeping up with her senior year coursework. “I wanted to get seasoned and conditioned. That job really helped me loosen up and get in the flow of things, to work faster and cleaner.”
Klink was a steady hand she knew she could lean on. “She wanted to learn everything. The culinary world was still relatively new to her.”
Since Long had completed all the standard culinary classes at CATS, Klink encouraged her to take an independent study honors class. When she won the regional and state level SkillsUSA competitions — for the second consecutive year — Long quit her job to focus solely on preparing for nationals.
She graduated with honors and as one of the few students from her high school accepted to the University of Maryland, where Long planned to study food science.
But her education at CATS wasn’t over. With the full support of Klink and the administration, a small kitchen area was carved out where she spent six to seven hours every day, following graduation, to practice recipes.
“It is quite a critical thinking puzzle to make sure you create a menu and include the things you have to include and utilize the other things,” says Klink. “There is a lot of mental gymnastics, and it takes a lot of back and forth and trial and error.”
Some of the competitors have their menu written for them, Klink adds. “And that is not me.” Instead, she worked with Long, bouncing around ideas. “I remember the entire week before nationals she would be here all day making all the dishes, trying different platings and techniques.”
The SkillsUSA competition is the closest thing that replicates what it’s like to work professionally as a chef, Klink adds. “We do labs in class but that is focusing on one thing, that is not how it works in a restaurant. There you have to overlap your time and figure out what you can accomplish while something else is cooking. The competition is more like a restaurant setting than anything I can teach them.”
On the competition floor in Atlanta, Long’s presence didn’t go unnoticed.
“Skipper, you’re back!” she recalls a judge saying. “Then when they put the gold medal on me, being in that space it was so emotional. Two of the master chefs said to me, ‘Skipper, you won! You worked hard and it paid off.’”
Long receives the gold medal onstage at the 2025 National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta, Ga.
Klink was equally thrilled. “Bridget is that kid. She embodies the passion of CTE and is the best advertisement I have for a dual completer,” she says. “Winning SkillsUSA changed the trajectory of her whole life. Obviously, she is passionate about food, but she also talks a lot about food deserts — of which we have many – and wanting to make a difference. Stay tuned, I know she is going to do great things.”
‘Food is Life’
The focus that made Long a natural in competition shines brightly at the Culinary Institute of America. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in applied food studies, with a core course of study in culinary arts. “My major is really about how food impacts our society, its sustainability and our lives.”
At CIA she also discovered a ready-made world of friends with many students being former competitors at SkillsUSA events, and faculty members that serve as competition coaches.
“In this pursuit, there is always someone better. You never stop improving and there is always something else to learn,” Long says. “It is invigorating.”
And with the Big Apple at her doorstep, Long has been particularly dazzled by Michelin star chef Daniel Humm, of Eleven Madison Park, who was appointed a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for food education due to his advocacy for sustainable food systems.
“He is always forward looking and innovative,” she says. “I so fell in love with that.”
Long also names chef Alice Walters as an inspiration. An author and restaurateur, Walters is famous for her role in creating the farm-to-table movement.
“I grew up with an appreciation for food and farms, and recognize how food connects us,” she says. “I love looking at food at the ingredient level and like to cook in a way that appreciates that.”
Next spring Long plans to compete in the SkillsUSA college/postsecondary culinary competition. Looking farther down the road, she envisions a career in a restaurant kitchen followed by working with food sustainability in communities around the world.
“Food is life,” she says, quoting a favorite mantra.
