Video: Students Compete In Future Chef Competition

School District of Pickens County students will be enjoyed a new addition to school lunches next year – a salad created by a 10-year-old Chastain Road Elementary School student.

Fourth-grader Autumn Bates won the district’s Future Chef Culinary Competition Tuesday afternoon with her Southwest Salad recipe.

“It has corn, beans, carrots, diced up tomatoes, lettuce,” Autumn said. Picante sauce and ranch was mixed together for our sauce to go on top.“

Southwest Salad is a recipe Autumn often enjoys at home.

“We thought it would be a good recipe to enter,” she said. “This was a really fun contest to enter.”

Autumn said she was really excited to learn she had won the competition.

“I was kind of nervous,” she said. “I had my friend beside me and she was a really good cook. I was kind of worried she would win. I’m really happy about everybody else having the courage to come here. It takes a lot of courage to get up and say that I can get here and I’m going to make it this far. This is a pretty exciting thing to enter.

“It’ll be pretty exciting when they walk through the lunch line (next year) and see my salad,” Autumn said.

Autumn enjoys cooking and knows that skill will come in handy later in life as she pursues becoming a missionary.

“That would help me being a missionary, a good thing to have by my side,” she said.

Autumn’s mom Allison Bates said her daughter has always been interested in cooking at home.

“She wants to make muffins and mix odd things up,” Bates said. “I think it’s great. The kids did wonderful, all of them. I’m glad they had the courage to come out and participate in this. I think it’s wonderful.”

Bates said the Southwest Salad recipe is a healthy one.

“We make it at home,” Bates said.

She said it’s important for elementary school students to learn about nutrition.

“I wish I had known more about nutrition then to make healthier choices as an adult, because you get into your routine of eating,” Bates said. “I think it’s good for them to know what things are.”  

Each student was assisted by a district kitchen staff member.

Autumn was assisted by her grandma, Jane Shirley, who works at Chastain Road Elementary.

“That’s where she gets a lot of her cooking skills, is from her grandmother,” Bates said. “She was excited.”  

The contest was held at the Pickens County Career & Technology Center.

32 students from third through fifth grades competed in the finals.

Each school was represented by two students. Before the contest, students and their assistants set up their stations with their ingredients and equipment.   

The contest was the brainchild of Sally Nicholson, Director of Student Nutrition Services.

“We’ve been looking for ways to recognize National Nutrition Month, which is the month of March, and creative ways to get elementary children involved in the menu planning,” she said. “We do a lot of taste tasting throughout the district. What are fun ways you can get younger children involved and excited about eating healthy, nutritious food? The more students you get involved in the program, the more likely they are and their friends are to eat.

“There’s a lot of unique dishes here,” Nicholson continued. “Some of the children have never heard of some of the items: arugula and couscous and chickpeas. Eating and cooking can be fun and exciting. It’s exciting trying different types of foods that you’ve never tried before.”  

Field Operator/Supervisor Jennafer Pitt said that when students have buy-in in a program or contest like this one, they’re more likely to be excited about trying new things and eating healthy food.  

“I really think that makes a big difference,” Pitt said.

“It takes seven times for a child to try something before they decide they like it,” Nicholson said. “Taste buds are changing in children, so what they like now they may not like in high school and vice-versa.”

Like much of the rest of the country, Pickens County has a childhood obesity problem.

“That’s one of the things we’re working on, to incorporate healthier eating habits and types of foods into the children,” Nicholson said. “So as they grow and mature, we can help them grow into a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight.”

“I think it will be a good concept at all levels,” Nicholson said of Autumn’s recipe, which will be featured on middle and high school menus as well.  

Clemson University food nutrition and packaging science majors helped narrow the more than 80 recipes submitted to the group of 32 finalists. A group of those same Clemson University students judged the finalists on Tuesday. Recipes were judged based on five criteria.: originality, ease of preparation, healthy attributes, kid-friendliness, plate presentation.

Students earned bonus points if they used one of more featured ingredients including chicken, dried herbs or spices, eggs, ground beef, roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, strawberries, taco meat, tortillas or turkey. 

“Those are items we’re hoping to incorporate next year as part of a Healthy Eating initiative,” Nicholson said.

The judges also selected three students for honorable mention: Lauren Nix for her taco in a bag salad, Andrew Oliva for his ground turkey and Clara Gordon of Liberty Elementary School for her turkey wrap salad.

Pitt thanked all the students who showed off their skills and recipes in the competition Tuesday afternoon.

“Y’all did an awesome job,” Pitt said. “All of our contestants were actually winners. We will feature each salad at the school level at every school before the end of the school year. Everyone is a winner in our books. Your salads were fabulous and we so enjoyed it.”

Each finalist in the competition received a framed plaque, a chef coat and a chef’s hat. Autumn received a trophy for her victory as well.