A cooking challenge took place last weekend at the 4-H Educational Center in Appomattox where food professionals from Virginia and Maryland worked with children, ages 9 to 18, in a competition similar to the “Top Chef” or “Chopped Junior” TV programs.
Chefs from Orchard Creek, Wintergreen and others mentored the children in safe food preparation practices and oversaw the weekend Food Frenzy Expo event.
“I was honored to have been asked to participate in the Food Frenzy,” said Emanuel May, executive chef at The Creek, the restaurant at the Orchard Creek golf course in Waynesboro. “I enjoyed the opportunity to share my knowledge with the students and mentor them as they learned important skills such as time management, cutting skills, kitchen safety and how to work as a team.”
On Saturday, the campers were divided into teams and planned a dish based on a main ingredient drawn from a hat. The only requirement was that the dish must be able to be served as a one bite in a plastic ramekin. The team brainstormed together on what they would cook and put together an outline for a short presentation to give when they introduced their dish.
The volunteer chefs helped guide the children through the creative process and offered suggestions to improve their recipes.
On Sunday, each team had a designated station where the children had two hours to make their dish and portion it into the ramekins. The chefs served as mentors and helped the children with safety. The participants were under a strict timeline to finish their dishes.
“The 4-H team that put this event together did a wonderful job,” May said. “It was very fulfilling to watch the kids participate in the process and work on public speaking through their presentations.”
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Crystal Graham
