Island girls win national cooking contest
They head to Ottawa for gala dinner in October
It was a birthday to remember for Amani Taleb.
“Hey, I have some good news,” said Amani’s mother, Danielle. “What?” Amani asked as she walked into her Summerside home.
“I think you’ve won Kid Food Nation,” she said.
“My birthday wish came true,” said the nine-year-old. That same evening, in another Summerside residence, Jessica Chaisson, reads and re-reads the email on her phone screen before calling to her daughter, Addison MacAusland. “Addison. You won Kid Food Nation.”
“Yay,” cheered the eight-yearold, jumping up and down. Kid Food Nation, a YTV and Boys and Girls Club national competition, enlists recipes from Canadian youth for a gala dinner, which will be held in October in Ottawa.
Both girls learned about the contest through the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside. From there they began, separately, planning their dishes for the contest.
“The dishes had to be a healthy option. The healthiest thing I could think of was a salad.
“But I wanted to put something in it that was very P.E.I., so I decided to make a lobster salad,” explained Amani.
“I put mushrooms, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and feta cheese.”
Addison decided to make granola bars.
“My mom took me to the grocery store and let me pick all of the ingredients. Like marshmallows, cranberries and banana chips.” Both mothers agreed it was a proud moment.
“She was really creative with her ingredients. It was really neat to see her create this,” said Chaisson.
Danielle added, “I was surprised to be honest. “Thinking there were hundreds of applicants, I never expected a win.
“But, I’m really looking forward to sharing this experience with her.”