While healthy eating can be a challenge for kids and parents, elementary school students in Pine-Richland School District will use their creativity and culinary skills to make healthy comfort food recipes in nutrition partner and Quality of Life Services provider Sodexo’s 2017 Future Chefs Challenge.
Fourth grader Eliza Rose Lazzaro took top honors with her Flatbread Mac and Cheese recipe. She was one of six students, who participated in a chef showdown on March 16, 2016 in the kitchen at Eden Hall Upper Elementary in Gibsonia.
The other five finalists included:
Chase Lavezoli/4th
Grade/Cheesy Bacon Quiche
Sofia Nicastro/4th grade/Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
Jackson McClain/4th Grade/Potatoes Au Gratin
Will Tamburri/4th Grade/Barley Vegetable Risotto
Cody Coulter/5th grade/Inside Out Taco
They were among 18 students who submitted healthy breakfast recipes. Judges invited six students to prepare and present their top recipes. These mini chefs were assessed on originality, taste, ease of presentation, kid friendliness and use of healthy ingredients.
The competitors had no easy task since they had an excellent panel of judges including: Eden Hall Principal Steven Smith, Eden Hall Nurse Terry Wentz and past winner Nora Carter, who is now in seventh grade.
Pine-Richland School District joins 256 other school districts across the country holding Future Chefs events throughout February and March.
The national initiative, which is in its seventh year, was created to get students thinking about making healthy food choices while also encouraging them to get active and creative in the kitchen. Pine-Richland students are joining nearly 2,600 other students representing almost 1,300 Sodexo-served school sites in 28 states nationally in this fun and educational challenge.
The winner from the competition here at Pine-Richland will be eligible to participate in the regional finals, and the selected regional finalists will vie to become one of five national finalists competing for the public’s vote on SodexoUSA.com.
“According to the American Heart Association, about one in every three American kids and teens is overweight or obese,” said Stephen Dunmore, CEO North America, Schools, Sodexo. “This staggering statistic demonstrates why it is more important than ever to engage youth to become advocates for their own health.”
Chefs program is one of the many ways Sodexo shares its health and well-being expertise with the clients, customers and communities it serves.
