Jaindl Bests Miller Heights in Sushi Competition

Correction: 3/3/11 1:25 p.m.: Jaindl Elementary School won’t know if it has  made it to the finals of the "Scholars for Sushi," competition until other schools compete in March. Six schools are competing for two finalist slots. The results will be known by  April 1.

Rice, seaweed and … turkey. That’s what was on the menu Tuesday as KOME, an Asian restaurant in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, hosted the "Sushi for Scholars" competition.

Jaindl Elementary School, the newest school in Parkland School District, and from Bethlehem Area School District competed against one another creating unique sushi rolls -- unique enough to move forward in the competition.

Jaindl's Grand Champion Roll won Tuesday night's competition by a final score of 2,076 and will move on to April's championship finale. Miller Heights of Bethlehem scored of 1,333.

Diners were asked to vote for the sushi roll they felt deserved to move forward in the competition. Guests included parents, children, school staff as well as several district administrators.

KOME sushi chefs prepared hundreds of rolls, however teachers from each school developed the design and ingredients.

Damian Goodman, a fifth grade teacher at Jaindl, partnered with Principal Diana Schantz to create what they called the “Grand Champion” roll. The roll was an eclectic blend of diced turkey breast and thigh on top. The inside consisted of sticky rice, lettuce, and cucumber and was topped with cranberry cinnamon sauce, turkey gravy, fried shallots and soy sauce.

“It makes you think of a bite-sized Thanksgiving,” said Goodman.

Miller Heights agreed to the challenge, offering a “Sushi Star of Bethlehem” roll created by third grade teacher Mark Lesh.  His roll was more traditional with crab, eel sauce and topped with tarter sauce.

The winning team received 15 percent of the evening' receipts and the opportunity to move on to the April finals. 

Any money raised through the competition will fund a new playground at Jaindl.