Greenville County kids had the chance to showcase their cooking skills alongside Michelin-starred chefs for the 8th Annual Healthy Lunchtime Throwdown at euphoria Greenville on the US Foods Eat Stage .
After a recipe contest, four lucky students were chosen. These students got the life-changing opportunity to have famous chefs work as their sous as they created the recipes that won them the spot.
Below are the four students and their chefs, including the dishes prepared.
Greenville County Schools Food & Nutrition Services has been leading the way in culinary creativity for school-lunch menus for years. Joe Urban, the director, is a major reason for that. He's been able to scout for excellent talent with a passion to cook food that is incomparable to other school districts in the nation. More, his partnership with Certified Angus Beef (listen here)means the students in Greenville, South Carolina, are eating the best beef available!
The experience began with a huddle, Urban encouraging the students to do their best and enforcing the fact they earned the opportunity to be on this stage. For him, it's always a pleasing moment because he gets to witness kids live out a dream, step out of the ordinary grind of the world and execute their passion of cooking.
You can't have a great cooking contest with great emcees. Both Charlie Moore of US Foods and Matt Critell of Bethel Elementary School did a fantastic job of keeping with the pace of the contest and including others as they witnessed culinary magic.
Chauncy Gray of the Donaldson Career Center was a pleasure to watch in action. His attention to detail and focus was not only caught on camera, but seen by his Michelin-starred Chef Minh Phan of PHENAKITE. They worked in unison to create and plate his dish, Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos.
Edith Acevedo Godinez of the Golden Strip Career Center worked with Michelin-starred Chef Ryan Ratino of Bresca and Jônt. Both worked great together to create a Chicken Curry with Brown Rice and Nann.
Neriah Proper of the Golden Strip Career Center and Michelin-starred Chef Emma Bengtsson of Aquavit had a fun time putting together the Jamaican Chicken Gyro dish. As they worked, they laughed and enjoyed each other's company. It was as if they'd been in a kitchen together before. This speaks to Bengtsson's leadership and her ability to lead and support at the same time.
Bethany Wojeck of the Donaldson Career Center paired with Michelin-starred Chef Suyoung Park of Jungsik and stole the show with the Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This duo was fun to watch because Wojeck was lively and able to bring smiles to Park's face many times.
That's hard to do when chefs are in the zone.
So, how did that Kimchi Grilled Cheese Sandwich win? They had judges, of course! Can't have a legit competition without a chosen few getting to enjoy those delicious dishes.
Congratulations to Bethany Wojeck on winning this year's event and to the other culinary students who turned in elegant dishes!
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