By Mike Morsch, Regional Editor
Can you smell what the Cranbury School is cooking?, You can if you’re around the school on March 29 when 10 students in grades first through fifth will compete in the school’s first-ever “Future Chefs” competition., Cranbury School students are joining more than 2,600 students in 1,300 school sites in 30 states across the nation to use creativity to show off their culinary skills to make healthy comfort foods in the “Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge.”, “The idea for the event came from the initiative to get students to use their creative minds and think about healthy choices while encouraging them to be active and creative in the kitchen,” said Liz Alioto, general manager/Sodexo Dining Services for Cranbury School. Sodexo is the food service company that sub-contracts with the school. Alioto also serves as food service director for the school., She said that the 10 student finalists were chosen based on their usage of healthy ingredients and of healthy preparation methods., “For example, whole grain products versus white flour products, turkey meat versus red chopped meat, brown rice versus white rice, healthy fats such as low fat cheese and avocado, low sodium products and things to that nature,” said Alioto. “As for preparation, baked versus fried, boiled and broiled. We had a total of 48 entries and 10 students were chosen based on the explained criteria.”, The 10 finalists chosen include Kara Keegan-Nichols, first grade; Brooke Kemmer, first grade; Nathan Christopher, second grade; Charlie Raymond, second grade; Amanda Strapp, third grade; Leah Bornstein, third grade; Catherine Zhang, fourth grade; Shaan Zaveri, fourth grade; Erin Carney, fifth grade; and Annie Callahan, fifth grade., Starting with dismissal at 3:15 p.m. on March 29, each student will be preparing their own recipe using the Cranbury School kitchen facilities. Judging the recipes will begin at 6 p.m., The theme for the day is “Healthy Comfort Foods.” The first-place winner will advance to the national Sodexo Future Chef level and compete against other children from around the country., “The educational value of Future Chefs is really all about teaching (the students) to make healthy choices at a young age,” said Alioto. “We want them to develop good eating habits that they will carry with them throughout their growing years. At the same time, we like to teach them the art of cooking, the different tools and equipment that is used in the preparation of their recipes and most of all, watch their creations come to life.”, Sodexo is a school nutrition parter to nearly 500 school districts across the United States that advances childhood nutrition, health and well-being.
