Two Inland Empire youths advance to finals of pizza restaurant cook-off

Sanabel Suleiman, 12, of Rancho Cucamonga and David Romero, 13, of Riverside County are two of the three finalists in John’s Incredible Kids Cook-Off, which will take place Monday at John’s Incredible Pizza Company in Carson.

This is the contest’s fourth year, and Sanabel is a returning finalist from last year’s cook-off, according to a news release.

This year’s third finalist is Dean Forrester of Costa Mesa.

The cook-off will give the three finalists one hour to prepare an original dish that will then be presented to a panel of three judges to taste — John Parlet, owner and founder of John’s Incredible Pizza Company; chef Joe Youkhan, “Chopped” and “Fire Masters” champion; and Ginger Chan, a reporter from KTLA.

The winner will help create a new dish to be featured on John’s Endless Buffet and will receive a $5,000 cash prize, according to the news release.

Guests are invited to watch the action live, and the company’s mascot, IncrediBear, will be there to help crown the winner.

John’s Incredible Pizza Company launched the competition to inspire junior chefs to get in the kitchen and cultivate new flavors and recipes, according to the news release.

Kids ages 7 to 12 are asked to submit a video showing off their cooking skills by preparing an original dish and explaining why they want to be a chef.

More than 30 were selected to to move on to the semifinals, in which they prepared a second dish for a virtual presentation.

The three top scores determined the finalists.

For information and a video of the finalists, go to johnspizza.com/kidscookfinals.