NICEVILLE — The challenge of healthy eating turned competitive Friday morning for more than a dozen Okaloosa County students.
For three hours the students prepped, shared and discussed their take on a healthy salad during the second annual Future Chefs Competition.
“Only one judge has tasted it, but he gave me a thumbs up, so I’m in the clear from him,” third-grader Jace Barefield said about an hour into the event.
The 9-year-old was one of 14 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders who opted to show off their culinary creations on the first day of spring break.
Each student submitted a salad recipe to representatives of Sodexo, the food services provider for the Okaloosa County School District, prior to the event, according to Larry Haile, Sodexo’s general manager.
Sodexo received more than 50 recipes and invited 20 students to participate. However, a few had scheduling conflicts and couldn’t attend, Haile said.
Last year, nine students competed to make a kid-friendly but nutritious breakfast. Haile said the creativity shown with the salads was just as impressive.
For example, Bluewater Elementary student Libby Clifton decided to create a “salad incognito” meal.
“I thought that some people might not like salad, so I thought I would do something to disguise it,” the fourth-grader said with a smile.
Her costumed meal — a taco salad on a stick — featured the traditional fixings of a taco salad wrapped up in a tortilla that was stuck on a stick with cheese cubes and tomatoes.
“People think it looks very intriguing,” Libby said. “And it’s delicious and it’s nutritious.”
While Libby and Jace hoped to win, 9-year-old Anajah Madden just wanted to participate.
“I’m just here to have fun,” the Kenwood Elementary fourth-grader said. “That’s actually the only reason I’m here.”
Her salad — which featured a mix of sauerkraut, red onions, carrots celery and bell peppers — was even fun make. She and her sister spent an entire Saturday afternoon perfecting the final product, Anajah said.
The journey to the competition was equally fun for Lexi Meeks, a third-grader at Walker Elementary.
With her mom’s help, she searched the Internet for salad recipes until she found one that was just right: fruity pasta salad.
“The name sounded really cool, so me and my mom thought we would make it,” Lexi said.
They changed the dressing recipe slightly, but Lexi said she was proud of the final result.
Her approach clearly worked, as a panel of judges awarded her first place. She and her fruity pasta salad will advance to a regional competition next month.
Madeline Castro from Florosa Elementary came in second and Jace took third.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.