Being a lover of cooking shows and food, I decided to combine my two favorite shows and have the teens compete in the style of "Iron Chef" or "Chopped". Their creations would be judged on taste, creativity and presentation. Not having cooking facilities, we improvised and created this "non-cooking" cooking competition. Hopefully other libraries like ours will be able to feel confident in offering such a program even though they may not have the facilities for cooking.
Type: Active
Age: High school
Optimal size: 11-20
Estimated cost: $100+
Planning time: <2 hours
Frequency: One-time
Learning outcomes
This program is meant to teach about flavor combinations and presentation, creativity, responsibility, time management and good sportsmanship.
Instructions
Our first round, we had 10 teens competing. Their task was to create their most creative snack using any of the following items: assorted crackers (triscuits, graham cracker, ritz crackers) peanut butter, cream cheese, marshamallow fluff, grapes, pepperoni, assorted cheeses, celery, peppers, raisins and olives. They had 10 minutes to create, prepare and plate their dishes for judging. Each contestant was then judged on taste, creativity and presentation. Each category was 10 points each for a total possibly score of 30 points. The first round judges were myself and 2 co-workers. Then we chopped the field in half. Those teens chopped were invited to become judges for the next round.
In Round 2, our five remaining contestants were giving new ingredients such as, different types of bread, cold cuts, condiments, cheeses, chips, and assorted fresh vegetables. Their task was to create their most tasty sandwich with the requirement that it had to have something crunchy in it. They were given 15 minutes to make two sandwiches (to accommodate all the new judges). Again, these recipes were judged on taste, presentation and creativity. Those teens judging took their job very seriously and more chopping was completed to give us our final 3.
In the third and final round, we asked the finalist to make their best nachos with homemade guacamole. Queso was ready in a crockpot and the avocados were fresh. They had 15 minutes to create and plate their dishes., using corn chips, tortilla chips, lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, bacon bits, sour cream, salsa, avocados and garlic, plus access to any ingredients from the previous rounds. After a quick guacamole tutorial, the contestants were working fast and furious. Their nachos were judged and a winner was crowned.
Evaluation
This program has certainly become one of my favorites out of the many I have done so far. We had no injuries and this style program was requested for the future (possibly holidays). The kids were fantastic in their creations and loved the competition. It cost approximately $200 most of which was mostly food stuffs, even without the "cooking" aspect but well worth it. Other equipment such as crock pots (with queso and refried beans), knives, cutting boards, box grater I brought in from home.