Jr. Iron Chef makes a sizzling return
All photos by Madeline Waterman.
The first Jr. Iron Chef Vermont competition in two years saw over 30 middle and high school teams competing in the kitchen once again, including a team from Champlain Valley Union High School.
This is the first Jr. Iron Chef Vermont competition since it was canceled due to COVID-19. This year, the competition was almost canceled as well, not due to the pandemic but inclement weather.
The competition was held April 2 at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.
“For the kids who don’t do sports in winter, this is their big competition,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, project director of Vermont FEED, which has been involved with the event since its inception in 2008.
This year, also due to COVID-19, it was a scaled-back competition, hosting about half the number of teams it did prior to the pandemic.
Teams had an hour to cook their dishes. They were graded on execution, teamwork, taste, creativity, use of local produce and compliance with competition guidelines.
The three awards given to teams at the end of the competition were the Lively Local award, for best use of local produce in a dish, the Crowdpleaser award for overall taste, and the Mise en Place award for execution and teamwork.
The Lively Local award was given to Milton Middle School’s Teen Cuisine in the middle school division, and Burlington High School’s Turnip the Heat, Get with the Beet in the high school division.
The Crowdpleaser Award was given to Hunt Middle School’s Whisks and Rewards in the middle school division and to Champlain Valley Union High School’s CVU Chefhawks #1 for the high school division.
The Mise en Place award was given to Lake Champlain Waldorf School’s The Starry Knives in the middle school division and Bellows Falls High School’s The Smoke Daddies in the High School division.
Original story can be found at The Citizen.
