Chicken tortilla soup from School No. 6 student Gotham Armstrong took first place at the Winslow Township School District’s chef challenge.
Young Winslow Township chefs who participated in Sodexo’s National Future Chef Challenge sent the palates of judges on a “passport to flavor.”
With dishes like stir fried fettuccini by Abdul Bell, a student at School No. 5; chicken tortilla soup by Gotham Armstrong, School No. 6; spicy creamy Cajun chicken pasta by Keira Rose, School No. 5;, and lemon chicken with asparagus and potatoes by Raegan Rothenbach, School No. 5, mouths were watering as School No. 5 Principal Nython Carter discussed the competition at a board of education meeting on March 25.
“The whole concept of the competition is to educate the students in healthy eating habits,” Carter explained. “Too often we hear about obesity in kids and kids not making the right choices in terms of their eating habits.”
According to the American Heart Association, about one in every three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, said David Newman, CEO of Sodexo at School. “This staggering statistic demonstrates why it’s more important than ever to engage youth to become advocates for their own health.”
The Public School Review – an online resource that provides profiles, statistics and reviews of public schools – notes that “the elementary-school years play a formative role in shaping a child’s self-esteem and confidence. Children with high self-esteem typically tackle new challenges more effectively, achieve more success in school and generally exhibit fewer personal and behavioral issues.”
This year, Winslow students in the challenge submitted their favorite home or family recipe.
“Final judging was based on taste, originality, ease of preparation, healthy attributes and presentation,” Carter noted.
Just like scenes from the Food Network, the student contestants participated in a culinary cookoff before the board meeting began. Judges included Police Chief Don Lemon; Fire Chief Mark Rigberg; EMS chief Joyce Midure; Winslow Ward 2 Committeeman Darrius Peoples; Abena McClendon of The Village of Camden County Inc.; and Winslow Township High School teacher Norm Ingram, the district’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
In the end, runners-up included Bell’s fettuccini and Rose’s chicken pasta. Second place went to Rothenbach for his lemon chicken, and first place to Armstrong for his tortilla soup. All finalists received medals and a gift bag of prizes.
Interim Superintendent Mark Pease thanked all the young chefs and those who judged the cookoff, as well as Carter, the master of ceremonies.
