Junior Chefs: Local students compete in culinary battle

PALMER — Eight children spilt into three different teams inside the Palmer Junior Middle School home economics room kicked off the 2019 Junior Chef competition, a learning program and contest that challenges middle school students across Matanuska Susitna Borough School District to cook meals that are tasty as they are healthy.

“I think it’s a great learning experience for the children,” MSBSD instructional coordinator Jana DePriest said.

Winona Benson, owner of Nourished Health Coaching Services, is the student instructor for the Mat-Su Junior Chef program. DePriest said that this competition will help the students build their sense of independence and learn the national values of food by trying new things and cooking healthy recipes.

“Winona introduced them to new fruits and vegetables,” DePriest said.

Each team had 40 minutes to complete their meal. Three judges graded the children’s meals based on creativity, innovation, taste apparel and general nutrition. Each dish had to follow the U.S. Government’s MyPlate guidelines, which is the current nutritional guide published by the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, according to Benson.

When the clock started, each team of children busily chopped, seasoned, stirred, and cooked their creations. Each team showed intense focus during the competition, catching the attention of officials and parents alike.

“I’m so excited we found a program middle school kids are really into,” DePriest said.

Benson said that she’s taught nutrition in the MSBSD for nine years. She led five sessions with the junior chefs prior to the competition. She said that each session focused on a different food group and healthy options and alternatives. This competition was the final test to find out what the students learned about cooking healthy meals.

“There needs to be at least three colors on the plate,” Benson said.

Benson said that the students’ cooking skills ranged from some experience to no experience at all. She taught them essential nutrition skills like using whole grains and lean proteins as well as proper meal portions. She said that when it comes to nutrition, serving the proper portion is essential.

“Restaurants don’t teach us those things,” Benson said.

When it came down to the final verdict, Benson said the entries were mere points away from each other and the winning team the Spicy Chefs won by just one point.

“It was all very close,” Benson said. “It was just inches of points. You all did so well.”

Benson said refereed to a study she found that indicated this coming generation’s lifespan is expected to be shorter due to the high amounts of processed foods that have become the norm. She said that this group was “breaking the mold” and on the path to living longer, healthier lives.

“You’re extending your lives with healthy foods,” Benson said.

Two sixth graders, Le'Sedra Williams and Aden Hershman of the Spicy Chef, team took first place. Their third teammate, Andrew Spiropoulos, had to stay home, sick from the flu. Williams said that she and Hershman were able to make some creative leaps that ultimately paid off in the end.

“I felt that it was good that we improvised,” Williams said.

Benson said that this competition was made open to all middle school students across the district, including home school students. She said that each student who wanted to enter needed to write a short essay on why they wanted to cook and why cooking healthy is important. She said that student applicants were matched to the school closest to where they lived.

“It’s fun because they want to come back,” Benson said.

Williams is from Teeland Middle School, Hershman is from PJMS and Spiropoulos is from Academy Charter School. Williams’ mother Corrine Hamrick said that she enjoyed watching her daughter in the kitchen and testing her abilities.

“She can cook me dinners now,” Hamrick said with a laugh.

The next Mat-Su Junior Chef completion will be at Wasilla Middle School on April 24 and the final competition will take place at Colony Middle School on April 29. Both events run from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com