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Sperry Elementary Future Chefs Cook Up Winning Dishes
Sperry Chefs Cook Up Healthy Delights
On Tuesday, February 21, five Sperry Elementary Students served up a mix of skill, education, and healthy living. They were the school’s five district finalists in the Future Chefs National Challenge sponsored by Sodexo, the national food service provider that supplies schools throughout the United States, and each made a healthy comfort food of their own choosing.
Sperry Elementary students submitted recipes of some of their favorite dishes made with healthy ingredients, and submitted these for review by skilled chefs. The five top recipes were chosen for the cook-off competition on February 21 at Sperry Elementary Cafeteria. The five finalists were Pre-Kindergarten student Bentley Pilgrim, 2nd grade student Jaycee Bridgeman, 3rd grade student Anna Coffey, and 5th grade students Melody Roland and Kassi Wash. These five donned chef’s hats and aprons after school and chopped, measured, and baked their winning recipes for a panel of judges and spectators as part of the competition to find the district’s “top chef.”
Bentley Pilgrim made his “Dino Pizza,” with crust shaped like a dinosaur and toppings of pepperoni and black olives. Jaycee Bridgeman created a spicy mix of vegetables for what she aptly named “Jaycee Corn Chowder.” As the name implies, Anna Coffey’s “Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese w/Turkey Bacon & Spinach” combined a range of different tastes into a single dish. Melody Roland made her “Cheesy Mock Mashed Potatoes” without potatoes. Kassi Wash’s “Pizza Casserole” substituted whole grain pasta for pizza crust to make a pizza you eat with a spoon.
The chefs prepared their recipes at the Sperry Elementary Cafeteria, and spent almost two hours getting their ingredients together, cutting and slicing, measuring and mixing, and boiling and baking until they each had completed their dishes. Three judges sampled and evaluated the entries using a rubric of six categories: healthy attributes, kid appeal, ease of preparation, originality, plate presentation, and, of course, taste. The judges awarded one to five points for each category to each entry. After adding up the categories for each contestant from the three judges, Anna Coffey was announced as runner up, and Melody Roland was awarded the district’s Top Chef prize. Melody will now advance to the next level of competition where she will represent Sperry with her healthy choice recipe.
The main judge for the competition, Remmi Smith, at sixteen, has spent half her life as a real chef, has already authored two cookbooks, hosted her own cooking program, and is currently the Student Ambassador of Health and Nutrition for North America as part of a partnership with Sodexo. “It’s an inspiration to our students to see this young person who has achieved so much at such an early age,” said Elementary Principal Richard Akin. “She’s an example not only of achieving your dreams, but of helping others make good choices.” Each of the five district winners received an autographed copy of one of Remmi’s cookbooks as well as cooking supplies from Sodexo.
The Future Chef Competition was organized by Sodexo in response to their concerns about school-aged children not making healthy food choices. The five Future Chefs in the competition each had a recipe that met the standards for the competition’s overall goal for providing healthy choices for comfort foods that school-age children will want to eat.
“I’m glad our students get the chance to participate in this program,” Sperry School Superintendent Dr. Brian Beagles said. “It not only lets them expand their own capabilities, but helps them recognize the difference between healthy foods and junk food. And this is a skill many of us could benefit from learning.”
Each chef was assisted by a member of the Sperry Child Nutrition staff. Bentley Pilgrim worked with Kim Sutherland, Jaycee Bridgeman received help from Kim Shackleford, Ann Coffey partnered with Judy Farrell, Kassi Wash teamed up with Diana Hight, and Melody Roland had assistance from Michelle Maggard.
The Five district finalists (above). Left to right: Jaycee Bridgeman, Anna Coffey, Kassi Wash, Melody Roland, Bentley Pilgrim, and chief judge Remmi Smith.
Below, District Future Chef competition winner, Melody Roland, with chef Remmi Smith.
