On Thursday, May 8, our Student Nutrition Services Department hosted the 2nd Annual Buccaneer Junior Chef competition at Cox Elementary. The contestants, who were all 4th grade students from Cox who were chosen after applying and submitting their healthy salad recipe, prepped and prepared their signature dishes for a panel of judges to taste.
For the competition, students had to present their dish in person with minimal help, although assistance was provided by Nutrition Services for chopping, dicing, and cooking any hot food.
Student dishes were judged on a variety of criteria, including: Originality, Healthy Attributes, Ease of Preparation, Kid-Friendliness, Taste, and Plate Presentation – with bonus points for using healthy items like legumes, proteins, and fresh fruits in the recipe.
The winning dish, Arugula Ribbon Salad, was created by Brooklyn Fisher and will be featured on the menu of their school during the coming school year. Her colorful and fresh salad included zucchini "ribbons", pomegranate seeds, shaved parmesan cheese, pumpkin seeds, and orange zest!
The other contestants, whose dishes were all well-received by the judges, were:
🧑🍳 Jasper Morgan - Italian Hot Blazer Salad
🧑🍳 Alivia Noval - Taco Pasta Salad
🧑🍳 Johnathan Painter - Cowboy Salad
🧑🍳 Nolan Stewart - Big Mac Salad
The students all received prize baskets to help them pursue their culinary expertise! Baskets included fun cooking utensils like measuring cups and spoons, a whisk, cutting board, mixing bowls, a Kid Chef cookbook, and more. The winning Buccaneer Junior Chef also received a Amazon Fire tablet to begin collecting their favorite recipes!
The judges for this year's competition were Margie Cook, Manager at One Bistro, Curriculum Director Tara Palmer, Communications Coordinator Kristy Creel, and XCS Board President George Leightenheimer.
Sous chefs from our cafeteria staff who supported each student were Rhonda Clark, Mindy Creech, Ann Drury, Ashley O’Neal, and Brenda Sprigg.
The Junior Chef Competition is an annual event hosted by Shari Jones, Cafeterias Coordinator and Brandon Stoudt, Operations Manager from the Student Nutrition Services Department. The event will rotate among the five elementary buildings each year; it was held at Arrowood in 2025, Cox in 2025, and is scheduled to take place at McKinley in 2026.