The talented young cooks of Orin C. Smith Elementary School on Wednesday participated in Future Chefs of America, a cooking competition hosted by the Chehalis School District’s food management company, Sodexo.
Forty students submitted recipes to the competition, but of those 40, only eight were chosen to be finalists and participate in the event.
The kids began cooking their meals at 1:30 p.m., and presented their meals to the judges at 3 p.m.
The winner of the competition was Lizzi Miller, a fifth grader, with her “Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.”
When asked by The Chronicle for advice to future young chefs, Miller said that “sometimes, (your food) might not be as good as you think, but if you try again, it might be super good.”
The runner-up was Carson Nielson, who made “Little Smokies in a Blanket,” and third place went to Morgan Hemmert, with her creatively-named “We Don’t TACO About Pasta.”
Also competing were Frances Judd, with her “Breakfast Stackers”; Carson Bortner, with “That Pasta”; Kalyse Dodd, with the “Best Pizza in the World Made by a Kid That Has Funny Hair”; Charlotte Spencer, with her “Cheeseburger Pie”; and Bella Shumate, with “Bella’s Taco Soup.”
Gift baskets for the participants containing candy and cooking utensils were handed out after the competition, with second and third place winners getting larger gift baskets and additional prizes. Miller’s first place prize pool contained the most, including the option to submit her recipe in the competition for winners across the western region of the United States.
The culinary competition is held every year and is available to all Chehalis students from the third to the fifth grade.
This year was the competition’s 15th anniversary, and like years prior, it followed the tradition of themed dishes. The choice of theme is up to Sodexo, who decided on “Main Entree.”
In response to The Chronicle asking how she chose her dish, Miller said that she “was looking on Pinterest, and that it looked really good.”
The three judges on hand were Tony Ketchum, the mayor of Chehalis; Colleen State, a member of the school board; and Heather Pinkerton, the chief financial officer for the Chehalis School District.
The categories the kids were judged on included originality, ease of preparation, healthy attributes, kid friendliness, taste, plate presentation and appearance and a presentation to the judges.
