The members of the Erwin High School Junior Chef team call themselves the “Tastebud Trailblazers,” and their teamwork and tenacity turned out to be a recipe for success.
The students - Olivia Cook, Ryleigh McHone, Shelby Sitton, and Peyton Turbyfill - have been announced as the second-place team in the North Carolina Junior Chef Cookoff. They earned a silver medal for their sweet and spicy vegetarian “Sweet Spudilla,” a warm, golden-grilled whole-grain quesadilla filled with creamy sweet potatoes, seasoned black beans and a bold blend of cheeses paired with a kale and apple salad.
The Tastebud Trailblazers, under the guidance of teachers Lacey Davis and Kady Rice, were among five high school finalist teams competing in the final phase of the competition. Students were challenged to work with their teachers and school nutrition administrators to develop a creative recipe for a school lunch entrée that met a list of requirements: compliant with school nutrition program standards, included at least two North Carolina-grown products and one USDA Foods item, replicable by school nutrition programs and appealing to students. Along with their recipe, teams had to submit a nutrient and cost analysis, work plan for preparing the entree within 90 minutes, and a video of their team preparing and plating their creation.
“I want to commend all of the students who participated in the competition,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green said. “This competition provides exposure to future career options and showcases students’ critical thinking, creativity and collaboration skills, as well as technical skills learned in the classroom.”
For the final phase of the competition, the Erwin students presented their entree to a panel of evaluators. They were evaluated on their recipe development, use of locally grown ingredients, culinary and food safety skills, organization, knowledge of nutrition and farm to school, teamwork and public presentation.
“It was challenging to figure out what we liked and didn’t like as we worked to improve our meal,” Peyton shared. “We tested it, interviewed our classmates, and kept making improvements to get to our final recipe.”
Like all talented chefs, the Taste Bud Trailblazers experimented and took some risks to develop their award-winning dish.
“We did a lot of experimenting with textures in our dish,” Shelby explained. “We worked to find what blended well together. We all love Mexican food, too, and worked to incorporate some international flavor with locally grown sweet potatoes.”
The second place finish earned each member of the Erwin team a scholarship from Kentucky’s Sullivan University and a professional chef’s jacket. Their recipe may one day find its way to school lunch menus.
“In working with their local school nutrition programs, students learn about and appreciate all that goes on behind the scenes to create recipes for school meals that not only meet required nutrition guidelines, but also appeal to students,” said NCDPI’s Senior Director for School Nutrition Rachel Findley. “In addition, they learn about farm to school and how schools and farms can work together to provide agriculture and nutrition education and incorporate locally grown foods in school meals.”
The Junior Chef Competition was created to inspire the next generation of culinary professionals, stimulate interest in locally produced agricultural products, increase participation in school nutrition programs, provide nutrition education and encourage healthy eating habits. It was planned by the Offices of School Nutrition and Career and Technical Education at the Department of Public Instruction in partnership with the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Farm to School Program, Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina and the School Nutrition Association of North Carolina.