Fourth through sixth grade students compete in Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge
WINSLOW TWP. -- Six students from schools 5 and 6 within the Winslow Township School District recently went head to head in a culinary challenge on March 28. The students tapped into their creativity and culinary skills to make healthy comfort food as part of the 2017 "Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge." Now in its seventh year, this national initiative was created to get students thinking about making healthy food choices while also encouraging them to be active and creative in the kitchen.
Winslow Township joins 256 other school districts across the country holding Future Chefs events throughout February and March. To earn a spot in Winslow's competition, students from schools 5 and 6 were asked to submit healthy comfort food recipes. The students with the best recipes from each grade, fourth through sixth, within in each school received an invitation to participate in the March 28 challenge.
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On left, Dakota Durham, a fifth-grade student from Winslow Township School 6, poses with her family after winning the "Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge" with her recipe "Over Easy in the Sea." On right, participants showcase their healthy comfort food dishes. Dakota Durham, a fifth-grade student from School 6, came out on top in the competition with her recipe "Over Easy in the Sea." Her dish combined crabmeat, spinach and eggs over a muffin. Cheering her on in the kitchen was her father, Ed Durham, who had spent 17 years of his life as a chef. "This is certainly a proud moment for me," he said.
Durham walked away with a basket of prizes and the chance to become a regional finalist. If selected as a regional finalist, she will go on to compete as one of five national finalists vying for the public's vote on SodexoUSA.com. Her recipe will also be featured on the Winslow Township School District's lunch menu in April.
The other competitors also walked away with a basket of prizes for their hard work and creativity in the kitchen to make healthy food both look and taste good.
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Fourth through sixth-grade students from Winslow Township schools 5 and 6 pose with Timothy Witcher, winner of "Chopped," before embarking on their own food competition. The first runner up was:
- Tiffany Chen, a sixth-grade student from School 5 who made "Japanese Curry."
The other finalists were:
- Aniyah Davis, a fourth-grade student from School 6 who made "Healthy Quesadillas."
- Jazlynn Hooks, a fifth-grade student from School 5 who made "Turkey Popovers."
- Devan Thurman, a fourth-grade student from School 5 who made "Cheesy Chicken Taquitos."
- Arianna Rosario, a sixth-grade student from School 6 who made "Italian Sausage Tortellini."
"It's important for us to learn to cook and eat healthy if we want to be fit," said Thurman. "You can have health problems and mess up your life if you are not fit."
This health-conscious attitude is exactly what prompted Sodexo to launch this competition. "According to the American Heart Association, about one in every three American kids and teens is overweight or obese," said Stephen Dunmore, CEO North America, Schools, Sodexo. "This staggering statistic demonstrates why it is more important than ever to engage youth to become advocates for their own health."
Judges for the event included members of the Winslow Township School Board; owners of local food establishments Mz Eazy's Cafe and the Pickle Deli Market; and Timothy Witcher, winner of the Food Network's "Chopped." Many members of the Winslow Township School District Sodexo team volunteered their time to help the young chefs prepare their meals, and Colleen Lillich and Ray Watkins served as event coordinators.
This item submitted by Allyson Roberts, Laura Bishop Communications, for Winslow Township School.