Her group, known as the red team, used Maine's famous soft drink for Woodbury's grilled beef tenderloin dish as well as her dessert.

"I made a Maine blueberry tart. I took fresh blueberries and mixed it with sugar, lemon zest, mint and vanilla bean and put that on top of the lemon curd and had a floating meringue. The remaining blueberries we mixed with Moxie, reduced it down to a sauce and added fresh cracked pepper," she explained.

This 21-year-old EMCC graduate admits her team tried more than once during the competition to try and get a feel for whether or not the judges were enjoying the food in front of them.

"Some of my other cooks tried to peek at the judges table to see their reactions but you were so focused on what you were doing," Woodbury said. "My only indication [that they liked it] was if they cleared the plate or not."

And they did clear their plates. They liked her dishes so much that at the end of the night, Woodbury was crowned the top chef.

"It's quite an honor, and it's nice to have won over people who have more years of experience than I have years of life," she said, "It just confirms I'm doing what I should be doing."

Thanks to Woodbury, Turner and Payne, thousands and thousands of dollars were raised at the event, all of which will benefit the school's culinary and hospitality and tourism management programs.