4-H Chefs Challenging State’s Best

Jan 11, 2012 - 13:59:52 CST.

A Gillespie County team has qualified for the State 4-H Food Challenge in June after finishing first at the district contest last week.

Finishing first in the Senior Breads and Cereals division and earning the right to advance were Sierra Dryer, Amy Heimann, Bethany Heimann and Mattie Lastovica.

The state contest will be held in June at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

The four coeds were among 28 youth from Gillespie County who competed in three age divisions at the District 4-H Food Challenge at Texas State University on Jan. 4.

This is the third year for the 4-H Food Challenge, which was developed by Gillespie County Extension Agents to address the need for a new, “highly charged” foods experience.

The contest, modeled after such competitions as the Food Network’s “Iron Chef”, challenges teams of 4-H members to create a dish using only a predetermined number of ingredients, explained Gillespie County Extension Agent Shea Nebgen.

From these ingredients, team members must identify and prepare the dish and then make a presentation about it to the judges.

The presentation includes information about the serving size, nutritional value and cost of the dish.

The 4-H Food Challenge allows 4-H members to demonstrate their culinary and food safety skills to judges and observers, Mrs. Nebgen said.

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