Chelsea Forkner loved to volunteer to make food for class parties.

“Cooking made me feel good, and it seemed to make other people feel good, too,” Forkner recently told Denise Tambasco, program coordinator at The Friendship Club.

That love of cooking paid off in a big way during a recent competition that netted her a $10,000 scholarship.

A 2010 graduate of Nevada Union High School, Forkner has been a member of the club, which offers academic, social and emotional support to Nevada County girls, for the last seven years.

After observing Forkner's interest in cooking, Tambasco encouraged her to think about making it her career.

“At first I thought that's not for me,” Forkner said. “Cooking was fun, but I didn't see it as a job.”

After visiting the Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in San Francisco with The Friendship Club, Forkner applied to the Sacramento campus and was accepted in the baking and patisserie program. Afterward, she received a call from a school representative inviting her to participate in a scholarship competition.

Seven high school graduates were given one hour and 45 minutes to prepare and plate an original recipe two-course meal. Forkner made parmesan-crusted chicken breast, scalloped potatoes and toasted broccoli with garlic.

“It was nerve-wracking,” she said. “There were, like, six judges hovering over us the whole time.”

She plated her meal with only five seconds left on the clock. “I felt the same anxiety that chefs on the Food Network must feel.”

Forkner said she couldn't believe it when she heard her name announced as the first-place winner of the scholarship. She was also presented with the signature tools of her trade: A white coat, hat, apron and chef's knife.

Set to begin classes in September, Forkner credits her family and The Friendship Club for her success and hopes to realize her dream to open a bakery in Nevada City some day.

“There will be cookies for Friendship Club girls, for sure,” she said.