Sodexo's Future Chef Competition Winner Announced [PHOTOS]

Pictured: Students that competed in Sodexo’s Future Chef Competiton All photos by Nancy Sasso Janis

School administrators, teachers, cafeteria workers, parents and siblings came out on March 7, 2017 to support the five students from four Naugatuck elementary schools who competed in the district finals of Sodexo’s Future Chef Competition. This year the students prepared healthy comfort food entree recipes that were judged by a distinguished panel of judges.

The five fourth graders began preparing their recipes promptly at 4:00pm in the cafeteria kitchen at Naugatuck High School. As in past competitions, five members of the food services staff paired up with the young chefs and volunteered their time to assist with the preparation of the snacks. Parents were allowed into the kitchen as the food was prepared and snapped many pictures as the young chefs whipped up their masterpieces.

The nearby NHS cafeteria serving line area was set up with the judges table and a small table for each chef to display their masterpieces. Healthy refreshments were available to those who attended while they waited to sample the five recipes. Each of the five competitors plated up a presentation dish, four judges plates, and numerous tasting cups for the spectators to sample.

The competition was sponsored by Sodexo, the company that administers the school cafeterias in the district, and it is a national competition. The recipe of the winner of the borough cook-off will go on to compete at the regional level, where three winners are chosen. The final five chefs at the national level will have a video of themselves preparing their recipe posted on YouTube and viewers will vote for their favorite recipe. This year there were 35 recipes submitted from the district's elementary schools and the students who came up with the top five were part of the local competition.

When all five students had finished their preparation, they presented their entree to the five judges a la the reality show Top Chef.

Marisa Marques, a fourth grade student of Mrs. MacDonald at Salem School, made Healthy Twist Lasagna. This creation featured ground turkey and zucchini and very moist. Her principal Jennifer Kruge was there to cheer her on.

Emma Jackson, who is in Mr. Luchene's fourth grade at Western School, invented a Healthy chili featuring turkey and taco seasoning. Western School principal Brenda Goodrich attended the competition to support the student who attends her school.

Lindsey Hacker, from Mr. Bennett's fourth grade at Maple Hill School and a former student of mine, made Cheesy Flower Mac. Her creation included whole grain pasta, cheddar cheese and cauliflower crumbles and was topped with turkey bacon crumbles.

Allie Smith represented Hop Brook School with Triple Berry French Toast. The French toast was made with whole grain bread and was garnished with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Allie is in Mrs. Meyers' fourth grade and her principal Kathy Taylor was also in attendance to support her.

Julia Patton, a fourth grade student in Mrs. Orsini's class at Maple Hill School, came up with Turkey Meatloaf. The very moist entree featured chopped spinach and was served with ketchup.

The healthy entrees were judged by a panel of four adults, including Assistant Business Manager Bernice Rizk, Naugatuck Mayor Warren N. “Pete” Hess, Naugatuck Board of Education Chair Dorothy Neth-Kunin and Sharon Locke, Superintendent of Schools. The recipes were judged on originality, healthy attributes, easy preparation, kid friendliness and plate presentation. As the judges’ scores were tallied, we were invited to sample everyone’s recipe and the ones that I was able to taste were delicious.

When the ballots were tallied, the four runner ups were announced in no particular order and awarded a medal. The winner was announced by Kate Murphy, Director of Food Services for the borough. Western’s Emma Jackson's recipe was named the winning entree. Chef Emma was awarded a box of cooking tools and a Fitbit in addition to her medal.

Emma's recipe will be prepared by Ms. Murphy at Western School for the students to sample.

Congratulations to all of the participants. Ms. Murphy told us that the scores were extremely close this year. Every entree was delicious and all the judges mentioned how difficult it was to decide which one they liked best. Best of luck to the winning chef as she moves on to the regional competition.