Great news! Many schools have expressed an interest in participating in the 2019 North Carolina Jr. Chef Competition but have been affected with schedule changes. Therefore, based on request, the Intent to Compete form deadline was extended to February 13. Completed applications with the school lunch entrée recipe, photo of the entrée, and parental permission and release forms for each team member are due February 20. Please help spread the word to ensure that your schools, teachers and students know about the NC Jr. Chef Competition. Please encourage high school Career and Technical Education students enrolled in Food, Nutrition and Culinary Arts related courses to participate in the NC Jr. Chef Competition. Scholarships from Sullivan University are available for student members of the top three NC Jr. Chef teams. Through the assistance of partners and sponsors, support is available for ingredients, travel and NC FCCLA State Conference registration for finalist teams. Details are below. We want to encourage as many recipe and application submissions as possible from across the state. The NC Jr. Chef Competition is a wonderful learning opportunity for students!
What is the NC Jr. Chef Competition? The NC Department of Public Instruction, NC Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, the Farm to School Coalition of NC and NC FCCLA are partnering to offer the 2019 NC Jr. Chef Competition. The NCJCC will recognize students for their ability to work as members of a team to demonstrate valuable skills in recipe development, food preparation, marketing, public presentation, organization, and local food systems. The NCJCC consists of two parts: 1) a recipe contest and 2) cook-off. Student teams must develop a recipe for a school lunch entrée that meets the guidelines to submit for the NCJCC recipe contest. During the NCJCC cook-off, finalist teams must prepare, cook and plate their recipe and present (2) plates of their prepared recipe to judges. Student teams are encouraged to work with their FCS teachers/FCCLA advisers and local School Nutrition Programs to develop creative entrée recipes for school lunch that meet the National School Lunch Program meal pattern and nutrition standards, include at least 1 USDA Foods item and 2 North Carolina grown products, and are replicable by School Nutrition professionals.
Why host a NC Jr. Chef Competition? The NCJCC hopes to inspire the next generation of culinary professionals, stimulate interest locally produced agriculture, increase participate in School Nutrition Programs, and encourage healthy eating habits.
Who can participate? Teams of 2-4 high school students (grades 9-12) currently enrolled in NC Career and Technical Education Food, Nutrition, and Culinary Arts courses can participate in the NCJCC.
When are important dates?/What are next steps?
February 7 - Review the NCJCC guidelines, view the recorded webinar and plan to participate.
February 13 (NEW DATE) - Submit an Intent to Compete form for your team if interested in participating.
February 20 (NEW DATE) - Submit a completed Application (including Recipe), Photo of the Dish, and Parental Permission and Release forms for each team member to FCSEducation@dpi.nc.gov.
February 26 (NEW DATE) - Look for a notification by email to see if your team has been selected as a finalist.
April 1 - If you are one of the 8 finalist teams, participate in a cook-off at the Piedmont Food & Agriculture Processing Center in Hillsborough. Finalists and the top three teams will be recognized during the opening session of the NC FCCLA Annual Conference in Greensboro that evening.
May 9-10 - The North Carolina Jr. Chef Competition winning team advances to compete in the Southeast Jr. Chef Competition at Sullivan University in Kentucky.
What awards are available?
For the NC Jr. Chef Competition winners, Sullivan University is offering the following scholarships for each student team member: 1st place - $16,000, 2nd place - $10,000, and 3rd place - $6,000.
For the Southeast Jr. Chef Competition winners, Sullivan University is offering the following scholarships for each student team member: 1st place - full tuition and fees (value of $45,000 - $55,000 each), 2nd place - tuition (value of $47,000 each), and 3rd place - $20,000 scholarship.
All scholarships offered by Sullivan University are to be used to attend Sullivan University.
Is there any funding or support for teams participating in the NC Jr. Chef Competition?
Many thanks to the following school and community partners have pledged support for the 2019 NC Jr. Chef Competition! Funds will be used to cover expenses related to the conducting the cook-off and providing reimbursement for ingredients, mileage, hotel and NC FCCLA State Conference registration for student members of the selected finalist teams. Organizations interested in sponsoring the 2019 competition should contact the NC Jr. Chef planning committee.
Platinum – Farm to School Coalition of NC, Johnson & Wales University
Gold - North Carolina Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier
Silver – NC Farm Bureau, School Nutrition Association of North Carolina
Bronze – NC Sweet Potato Commission
Questions?
For more info, please see the NC Jr. Chef Competition page on the NCDPI, School Nutrition Services website, https://childnutrition.ncpublicschools.gov/news-events/nc-jr-chef.
If you have questions regarding the NC Jr. Chef Competition, please reach out to Tracey Bates, School Nutrition Specialist, NCDPI (tracey.bates@dpi.nc.gov), Heather Barnes, Marketing Consultant, NCDA&CS (heather.barnes@ncagr.gov) or Reno Palombit, Family and Consumer Sciences Education Consultant, Career and Technical Education, NCDPI (reno.palombit@dpi.nc.gov).