Gilroy Student Competing In Culinary Throwdown

GILROY, CA -- Move over Bobby Flay. Jack is on the attack with his kitchen knives in hand, preparing to knock the judges' socks off in a throwdown of sorts in Gilroy, where the south Santa Clara County town celebrates its Mexican influence during a culinary contest scheduled for next month.

Eleven-year-old Jack Zukowski, who attends Luigi Aprea as a fifth grader, will participate in the "Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge.” In its ninth year, the national initiative was developed to urge students to think about making healthy food choices -- and being creative with the dishes.

Jack is among seven other Gilroy Unified School District students competing against more than 2,700 other youngsters from across the country who represent more than 1,400 Sodexo-served school sites in 30 states.

His parents, Mike and Trista, are not only beaming with pride, they admit to being the lucky beneficiaries of Jack's cooking skills.

"It's kind of nice when I come home, and he's stepping up and doing the food. It's fun to watch," Zukowski said of his son. As far as Jack cooking for the family every day, Jack's father said: "We're working on that." Jack's sister also once enjoyed cooking but moved on to other things -- perhaps boys, as the boy had alluded. Of course, Jack hasn't ruled out girls, he admits. He's even considered bringing his creations to school to woo his friends. Jack has no shortage of those -- especially since his favorite thing to make is double chocolate chip cookies.

His baking interest has been inspired by his mother and grandmother.

"My mom always made cookies and brownies for us," the third generation cook told Patch. He also likes to make Chinese chicken salad with his mother as sous chef.

Jack is a master juggler of interests. He declared instantly of two major goals he has. The youngster who has a face and positive nature for television entertainment wants to see country music singer Luke Bryan in concert. More than anything, he wants to be on "Chopped," the hit "Food Network" show in which contestants compete for having the best dish while beating the clock with secret, incongruent ingredients.

Jack's dish for the contest slated for March 6 is called "Jardin de Peces" as in a version of shrimp avocado cerviche.

The local competition featured more than 21 elementary school students submitting healthy Mexican-inspired recipes. The eight best were selected to participate in the district-wide finals event.

Other competitors in the district include:

• Michael Sarment, also of Luigi Aprea Elementary
• Kevin Carillo of Eliot Elementary
• Rayen Garcia of Rod Kelley Elementary
• Sandra Martinez Aguilar of Glen View Elementary
• Myra Moniz and Julia Finucane of El Roble Elementary
• Tamara Grace of Rucker Elementary

Finalists will prepare and present their creations based on criteria including originality, taste, kid friendliness and use of healthy ingredients. Gilroy Unified joins 266 other school districts across the country holding Future Chefs events throughout February and March. The winning student from each participating district will be considered for 40 regional finalist awards. The chosen regional finalists will vie to become one of five national finalists competing for the public’s vote on SodexoUSA.com.

“According to the American Heart Association, about one in every three American kids
and teens is overweight or obese,” Sodexo Chief Executive Officer Stephen Dunmore said on behalf of the North America division. “This staggering statistic demonstrates why it is more important than ever to engage youth to become advocates for their own health.”

Sodexo, the school nutrition partner to over 425 school districts throughout the nation, is
renowned for its work advancing childhood nutrition, health and well-being. The Paris-based company has served 17 million additional free breakfasts to K through 12th-grade students.

For more information on the Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge, visit www.sodexo.com.

--Images courtesy of Trista Zukowski