PITTSBURGH, May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Culinary-savvy high school seniors from throughout North America are heading to Las Vegas, preparing to out dice, out slice and out chiffonade the competition to win the Best Teen Chef 2008 Final Round Competition.

This year's Best Teen Chef Final Round Competition will be held on Saturday, May 17 at The Art Institute of Las Vegas.

Top prize winners in the Competition can win a full-tuition scholarship toward an associate's degree, certificate or diploma program to study Culinary Arts at one of the more than 30 participating Art Institutes locations.

In addition to a full-tuition scholarship and the title of Best Teen Chef 2008, the first place winner in the national competition, in partnership with Food Network, will be an "Intern for a Day" at the Food Network Kitchens in New York City. The winner will also receive a tour of the Food Network Studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef's restaurant and a library of Food Network Kitchens cookbooks.

"We are gratified that in the nine years we have sponsored Best Teen Chef, the quantity and quality of the students entering increases," says Chef Michael Nenes, Assistant Vice President of Culinary Arts for The Art Institutes. Hundreds of students from the U.S. and Canada enter the competition each year in hopes of snagging the grand prize, and more importantly, an opportunity to launch their culinary arts education.

The Best Teen Chef event is a timed-competition. The internationally-inspired menu will include Braciole Calabresi -- Stuffed Pork Bundles; Peperonata -- Peppers Sauteed with Olive Oil; and Capers and Orechietti con Carciofl -- Orechietti Pasta with Artichokes.

Student competitors are provided the same ingredients and recipes, and prepare their entries using identical equipment.

The esteemed judging panel for this year's event includes chef faculty from The Art Institutes schools and the first-ever Best Teen Chef winner, Brent Lewis of Loveland, Colorado.

For more information about The Best Teen Chef Competition, visit www.artinstitutes.edu/pr.aspx?ID=btc008.

The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu) is a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.