THE MAIN COURSE
Iron Chef Jr. competition gives kids confidence in the kitchen, and out
The competition was stiff to be sure, but good-natured, high-spirited and guided by a wealth of chef-expertise Orlando’s home cooks would surely love to have in their own kitchens as the Edible Education Experience (EEE) hosted the Iron Chef Jr. cooking competition at the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Kitchen House & Culinary Garden in College Park.
This was the third year for the event, during which students from Orlando Junior Academy, grades 6-8, work in teams to prepare challenging recipes, each requiring fresh ingredients, seasonal herbs and vegetables harvested from the facility’s verdant garden. The competition serves as the final exam for the students’ 18-week culinary program, which takes place during their regular school schedule.
“It’s a celebration of sorts,” says Kevin Fonzo, the program’s chef instructor and co-founder, “so the kids can focus on and show off what they’ve learned.”
Locally renowned chefs and culinary experts are brought in to judge — this year’s roster included Orlando luminary Kathleen Blake, former owner/ chef of the Rusty Spoon, Chef Fabrizio Schenardi of the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, Chef Julie Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig and Chef Lordfer Lalicon of Kadence, to name a few.
“They head over here and they’re so nervous!” says Brad Jones, garden educator for the EEE. He tells the students to embrace it, to take that energy and use it.
“We want them to show off,” says Jones.
“Oftentimes, kids are discouraged from doing that, told to keep their heads down. Here, we tell them it’s time to show people what you’ve got! They work so hard throughout the program. Why should we just give them a grade they don’t really care about? They really care about [Iron Chef Jr.]. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be nervous.”
Come game time, though, it didn’t show.
Teams came together at their stations to be judged on far more than just taste.
“That’s actually the least important factor here,” Fonzo said. “We’re looking for teamwork, cleanliness and knife skills before anything touches the plate.”
Students are also judged on their creativity, in particular their use of ingredients that come straight from the facility’s garden. Sixth and 7th graders made fresh pasta for their teacher-chosen dishes, while the 8th grade teams worked to develop entire multicourse meals on which they’d be judged.
Carlissa Brown says she was not among the nervous when the timer started.
She and the members of the Green Team took first place for the 7th grade competition, with a beautifully plated version of their assigned dish: orecchiette with garlic herb and parmesan butter sauce. Teammates identified Brown as their leader amid the competition.
“It wasn’t really decided,” said Brown, adding that the class has broadened her interest in all kinds of food, including French, Indian and Italian, “it’s just a matter of who stepped up.”
The winners for each grade earn not merely bragging rights, but a special meal prepared by Fonzo and EEE Culinary Director Erica Asti.
Though many students, Brown included, express an interest in the possibility of culinary careers in the future, Fonzo’s primary mission in the program is to forge a connection between the kids and where their food comes from.
“It’s something we’ve lost,” he says of the program, a seed-to-table curriculum that also incorporates the kids’ regular subjects into the mix: math, science, social studies.
“They plant the seed, nurture the plant, harvest it and learn how to cook it properly. It’s about giving kids some kind of food security … teaching them to cook their own food, so they’re not going out and buying fast and processed food.
“We instill in them the knowledge that a potato grows in the ground, a tomato on a vine, that broccoli is a flower … and along with that, how to use a knife properly, how to read a recipe and learn measurements…. And you can see real-time problem solving in the competition, as they rise to challenges that present themselves, discuss options and tackle them.”
Fonzo runs into parents all the time who note their kids’ new interest in cooking, or how they got an impromptu lesson in the produce section at Publix. His favorite?
“A mom who told me her son has been setting his clock an hour early in the morning so he can make his own fresh pasta for lunch!”
Parents are likely pleased, as well, that cleanup is included in the curriculum.
For more information about the Edible Education Experience, visit edibleed.org/.
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