In Beaver Cleaver’s heyday, when kids came home from school, their moms were waiting with freshly-baked oatmeal cookies and milk. Now with more parents employed outside of the home, many middle-school or older students fend for themselves in the hours before dinner.
The Lake Washington School District (LWSD) has taken huge strides to get junk food out of school lunch rooms and vending machines.
The district can’t control what kids eat outside of school, but “around the country, especially on the West Coast, Sodexo (food service provider for LWSD) has been getting kids engaged in food preparation that they can do on their own, or with their parents, and urging them to make healthier choices,” said George Hulett, director of food services for LWSD.
Last Wednesday, the district hosted the first annual Kids Can Cook Elementary Culinary Competition at Redmond Junior High School. Twenty-one finalists from Redmond, Kirkland and Sammamish — all of whom were fourth or fifth graders — prepared “after-school snacks” that they created themselves or adapted from family favorites.
Recipes had to be tasty, easy-to-prepare, “and we encouraged students to incorporate three food groups, fruit/vegetable, protein and grain,” said Nancy Lytle, a nutritionist who has helped LWSD to find kid-friendly alternatives to high-fat and sugar-laden foods and beverages.
Budding chefs from throughout the district were invited to submit recipes with detailed ingredient lists and a rundown of the methods used to make the dish. A committee from the food services department chose the finalists and purchased all the materials kids would need to prepare the foods on the premises, just like at a real cooking contest, only in quantities four times the original recipe, so that judges and others could sample them.
Parents weren’t allowed to help, but there was plenty of adult supervision from licensed food handlers who work in the schools. Work stations were organized with utensils. And each contestant got a t-shirt, apron and toque to keep, as well as disposable gloves for safe food handling.
The young chefs dove into the work with gusto. Working elbow-to-elbow throughout the kitchen, they were focused and precise in assembling their edible masterpieces.
Moms and dads excitedly snapped photos and chatted about their kids’ unexpected passion for cooking.
Olga Krichevskiy said her son Anthony, a student from Mark Twain Elementary, came up with his Breakfast Omelet recipe completely on his own “and has served it to us for breakfast in bed — we’re very spoiled.”
His dad, Vlad, agreed.
“He’s very serious. He watches Food Network all the time and he doesn’t let us help,” Vlad said. “He knows how to cook, how to cut, what goes where. He argues with us about how to do it right. The big thing is that he treats it like a hobby — it’s not like we make him do it.”
Members of Girl Scout Troop 969, which includes students from several different schools, entered the competition to earn food badges, explained moms Danette Klundt and Stephanie Taylor. Klundt’s daughter, Danelle, from John Muir Elementary and Taylor’s daughter, Carly, from Robert Frost Elementary, were chosen as finalists, with their recipes for Pizza Bagels and Peanut Butter Balls.
After all the food was ready, kids plated what they prepared and brought it to tables where they had set out decorations to promote the recipe’s appeal and enhance the tasting experience. As TV host Sandra Lee would say, “And now, look at my tablescape!”
For example, Jake Nealon of Emily Dickinson Elementary, displayed sports equipment and a sign about SPEED: “Smoothie … Power … Endurance … Energy … Drive. Why let an ordinary snack slow you down when you could pick a winner with the Seven Layer Supreme?”
His recipe was a smoothie concoction packed with layers of fresh fruit.
Judges made the rounds, asked questions about the recipes and tasted each one, making notes on their clip boards.
At last, it was time for awards. Every participant received a medal, certificate and plaque. Special prizes were given to winners in five categories:
• Health-Conscious Foods: Grace Mahan, Redmond Elementary, Cucumber-Yogurt Dip with Pita Bread.
• Kid-Friendly Preparation: Megan Wallace, Emily Dickinson Elementary, Quesadilla Cake.
• Fun Foods: Daniel Oliver, Wilder Elementary, Special Homemade Guacamole.
• Judge’s Choice: Martin Penberthy, Norman Rockwell Elementary, Super Salsa.
• Best Table Presentation: Aaron Tschumper, Wilder Elementary, Trail Bars.
LWSD plans to repeat the competition next year and to publish a cookbook or post the recipes on its Web site.
