FINISHING TOUCHES
Ten finalists cook up healthy snacks
Future Chefs
Ten fifth-graders from various Rio Rancho district schools compete to cook the best healthy snack
They might be young and more apt to play than work, but the food Rio Rancho elementary students prepared Wednesday afternoon was serious business.
Ten fifth-grade students from various elementary schools in the district participated in the Future Chefs competition at Rio Rancho Middle School. There were several dishes considered for the top spot, but a broccoli ensemble was heads above the rest. Judges designated the “crispy broccoli carrot fritters” creation prepared by Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary student Alex Williams as the top dish.
Williams was part of the annual districtwide competition sponsored by Sodexo, the company that provides breakfast and lunch for Rio Rancho Public Schools. Fifth-grade students from each elementary school were given a chance to apply for the competition, which required them to cook a healthy snack. They had to submit their recipes and Sodexo staff narrowed it down to the finalists.
Abigail Wright of Maggie Cordova Elementary said she has a great love of cooking and that’s why she decided to join in the cook-off. She said she initially considered making a desert but opted instead for a quiche dish.
“My dad told me I should do something that shows more of my cooking skills,” she said. “We came up with this recipe.”
Wright said she enjoys cooking healthy meals and dishes. Her mother, Charlotte Wright, lost 170 pounds recently by using a program that focuses on portion size, the types of food you eat and exercise. She said the entire family supported her efforts to slim down.
“We only eat healthy in our house now,” Charlotte Wright said. “When she told me she wanted to do this, I thought, ‘Oh, yes! It’s rubbing off on her.’ ”
Wright won second place in the health-conscious foods category. All the students who competed will get a certificate, chef’s coat, apron and hat.
After preparing their dishes, students moved from the kitchen to the cafeteria. They had to set up a display to present their food to the judges, who were students from Rio Rancho High’s culinary arts program.
Super intendent Sue Cleveland attended the event, saying not only is it something that teaches students the practical skill of cooking but it could lead them to a career.
“For education to be successful, it’s important to find something for every child,” she said. “Something they are passionate about or a group they can belong to. This (competition) is one more of those things.”