Dominic Alandt | Bomber Media
Kenston students, kindergarten through fifth grade, showcased their culinary skills in the Kenston Cooks! competition, which returned last week after a two year break from the event.
The winning dishes were the Bomber quesadilla with homemade guacamole prepared by Stella Henry, quiche prepared by Anya Baum, and banana pancakes prepared by June Snavely.
Judges included Mrs. Nancy Santilli, Superintendent of Kenston Schools; Mrs. Neysa Gaskins, Kenston Schools Board of Education President; Mr. Matthew Jones, Timmons Elementary physical education teacher; and Mr. Craig Fitzgerald, owner and executive chef of The Sleepy Rooster.
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Many students submitted their recipes to enter the competition from both Timmons Elementary School and Kenston Intermediate School. Kenston’s Nutrition Services Director, Mr. Andrew Mendez, selected the competitors after they submitted their healthy recipes.
Students currently learn about nutrition and healthy eating habits in their health and PE classes, but Mendez hopes to “try and promote healthy eating in the cafeterias to be an extension of the classroom.”
The students had 40 minutes to prepare and plate their meal with the help of a middle school helper.
Winners of the 2022 Kenston Cooks! competition submitted recipes and then prepared their dishes for a panel of judges. (Riley Cochran)
A wide variety of dishes were prepared, including a “naanwich,” a piece of naan bread filled with chicken curry, a turkey avocado wrap with fruit skewers, and even a vegan pita pizza.
The winners this year won gift cards to Adrenaline Monkey, a Ninja Warrior gym for kids.
The Kenston Cooks! competition is annual, and another group of Kenston students plan to take to the kitchen again to share their healthy recipes with their classmates and families next year.▮
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Dominic Alandt is a multimedia reporter for Bomber Media and a senior at Kenston High School.