Alva Review-Courier -

Alva Middle School students delighted judges and other students this week with their culinary dishes during the Kids Cooking for Kids competition held at the middle school on Feb. 28.

The event was brought to the students by the Cooking for Kids Program. Chef Bill Harris, who works for Cooking for Kids, travels to different schools demonstrating to students how to prepare healthy dishes.

"I like to show the students healthy options and use fresh vegetables as much as I can," Harris said.

Cooking for Kids' mission, as on their fliers, is to "change the landscape of school nutrition through culinary training for school nutrition professionals." Cooking for Kids is a great program, as it promotes healthy eating and basic cooking skills. It allows students to broaden their culinary horizons, as students may not see general cooking or healthy options in their home.

Stephanie Lambert

Cooking for Kids Chef Bill Harris pauses a moment from supervising the student chefs during the Kids Cooking for Kids competition at Alva Middle School on Feb. 28.

The students participating in the event were Dalton Marteney, Kory Faulkner, Jarin Shirley and Joe Parsons. Dalton Marteney made a breakfast casserole, Jarin Shirley served up a chicken casserole, Joe Parsons made "Grandma's Chicken Casserole" and Kory Faulkner made "Kory's Molcajete." Parsons, for his dish, made radish rosettes. They chopped vegetables and seemed to enjoy themselves while supervised by Chef Harris, Verleeta Eckels and the middle school's kitchen staff.

The students were judged on a 1-5 scale based on plate presentation, overall taste, overall healthiness, and ease to duplicate. The students presented their dishes to the judges, then small samplings of each dish were offered after the judging for the rest of the middle school students who wanted to partake.

The winner of the contest was Kory Faulkner with his dish "Kory's Molcajete." As a prize Faulkner won a gift basket and his dish was served during school that week.