Eight teams compete in triennial 4-H cooking contest

December 30, 2016

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cookers05 — Margaux Basart, 13, left, and Miranda Basart, 13, formed Team Obst and cooked up spice cookies and a honey line chicken enchilada at Friday's Dallas County 4-H Cooking Contest at the Washington Township School.

Lorna Grow, left, leader of the Sugar Grove Sunshine 4-H group, confers with cooking contest judge Linda Nelson and fellow judge Sally Kilkenny, right, observes the proceedings at Friday morning’s 4-H Cooking Contest at the Washington Township School.

Pineapple was the surprise ingredient.

Part of the challenge of the triennial Dallas County 4-H Cooking Contest is the surprise ingredient, sprung on the young chefs at the last minute and required in at least one of their dishes.

For Team Obst, composed of Miranda and Margaux Basart, both 13, a quick substitution in their honey lime chicken enchilada was an easy move. For Annelise Kriefels, Hayley Hick and Kelsey Greenslade of The Cookers, pineapple would take a little more doing with pepperoni pizza twists and Scotcheroos.

Eight teams of two or three each competed in the every-three-year competition, four in the junior division and four in senior, and their “organized chaos,” as Lorna Grow, leader of the Sugar Grove Sunshine 4-H club called it, echoed though the Washington Township School.

Cooking teams could choose their own dishes, and the school gymnasium was filled with all manner of utensils and ingredients for use by the teams.

Sally Kilkenny, one of the judges in the contest, circled the gym with clipboard in hand, asking question and taking notes. She was helped in the judging by Linda Nelson and Zoe Shank.

“I’m seeing a lot of great teamwork,” Kilkenny said, explaining that not only the quality of the dishes is judged but also “how everyone works together.” Along with teamwork and communication, she said the cooks were also judged on their knowledge of food preparation, food quality and safety.

They also took a brief quiz as part of the competition.