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If you had walked into the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction on April 12, you would have seen dozens of teenagers from around Vermont having fun with... sprouts. And root vegetables. And wheat berries. And winter squash.
It was the first ever Jr. Iron Chef Competition, in which middle and high school students battled over their blenders and competed over their cutting boards to create the best dish using local, seasonal ingredients.
More than 30 teams of 3 to 5 kids participated. Each team had to use at least five local ingredients in their creation, and make something that could easily be prepared in a school cafeteria. The goals were to give students hands-on experience preparing local food and to support the Burlington School Food Project and VT FEED (Food Education Every Day).
Just like on the Food Network’s popular show Iron Chef,
students cooked their dishes on the spot. Then all dishes were judged by a panel. One of the winners? Local Vegetable Tater Tots with Herb Dip.
Don’t you wish those were on your school menu when you were a kid?
—Caroline Abels
Photos courtesy of Mickey Davis and Aziza Malik