Chefs Taste Healthy Pizza Creations From Tiverton Students

Tiverton chefs and restaurant owners came to the Wednesday for the third annual Healthy Pizza Cook-Off, hosted by the Culinary Arts Program.

The project is the culmination of the unit of study on healthy foods, according to teacher Cathy Marshall. Students challenged themselves to transform a traditional pizza recipe into a healthy and delectable alternative.

Chefs from , , and sampled and judged the results of the students' work. 

After some careful tallying of a variety of healthy (and absolutely delicious) pizza from her two classes, Marshall announced the cook-off winners late Wednesday afternoon. They are:

• Culinary II (first class) - Kitchen 3 - 188 pts. Pesto, red sauce, zucchini, plum tomatoes, crumbled feta, fresh basil leaves. Students Felicia Pereira, Shaina Morin, Korie Medeiros and Bria Freitas.
• Culinary I (second class) - Kitchen 2 - 240 points. Red sauce, Canadian bacon, onion, part skim mozzarella, parmesan cheese, black olives, garlie and parsley. Students Jenna DeCosta, Zachary Mendoza, Elliot DeMello and Alex (Zan) Wahl.

Boat House Executive Chef Jonathan Cambra said there's not a lot of collaborative programs like this, between local chefs and school culinary arts programs, left in the state.

"They were very confident in what they produced for us today," he said about the eager students using fresh ingredients for healthy eating. "We've got to build it here."

Nonni's owner Phil DeDucca said the collaboration between the schools and local restaurants should grow, keeping the idea of supporting the schools and the concept of community.

"Keep it local," he said.

Marshall thanked the chefs for taking the time to come to the school.