Several Wall students competed in this year’s San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Food Challenge on Wednesday, January 27. They participated among other 3rd-12th grade contestants while engaging their culinary skills.

Teams of three to four kids are required to randomly draw a food category whether it be an appetizer, main dish, side dish, or healthy dessert. Then using whatever special ingredient is given in the package set aside to make that food item, they present their dish’s nutritional value, cost per serving, and safety procedures used while cooking to the judges.

“Sometimes the contest is not only cooking but also assembling the food,” fourth-grader Sterling Schwartz said.” My team decided to make a fruit salad.” 

Working in teams during this particular competition comes in handy because there are different steps to work through like shopping for ingredients, preparing a dish, and giving an oral presentation. 

“My job was to complete the shopping portion and look for ingredients we wanted to add in our food,” Schwartz said. “They gave us tokens to buy extra ingredients from the big food pantry.” 

According to elementary participants, there is a friendly agreement that everyone has fun at weekly cooking practices prior to the competition; whether it’s learning knife safety or just spending time with friends. 

I loved getting to eat the food after practice,” third-grader Laetyn Tanner said. “It’s too bad the judges wouldn’t let us eat what we made at the contest.”

Overall, the 4-H Food Program offers students the opportunity to learn and develop cooking and nutritional skills. 

“All of us had no idea how to do the cooking stuff before we did the contest,” third-grader Preslee Barrett said. “We learned a lot, and it was really fun.”