A dish inspired by one gathering among friends will now be served in schools across Fairfax County.
With a “Creamy Dream” gnocchi soup complemented by sides of whole wheat garlic soup dippers and a Zesty Sunshine Salad, four students from Herndon High School won the competitive lunch category at the 13th annual Culinary Challenge, held this year at Hayfield Secondary School (7630 Telegraph Road) on March 8.
Team members Sidney Ide, Syeda Fazeen Rizvi, Winnie O’Hanlon and Clarissa Dantes — all seniors at Herndon High — say they adapted their main dish from one that Ide cooked up for a “Friendsgiving” celebration that they had last year. It includes sweet potato gnocchi, cannellini beans and fresh spinach.
“Originally it didn’t have any beans and lacked protein but to add some nutritional value for students, we thought cannellini beans were the perfect texture, and sweet potatoes are so slept on,” the team said in a statement to FFXnow. “It was really fun and a great learning opportunity to see how a few simple ingredients can add great nutritional value!”
Organized by the nonprofit Real Food for Kids, which advocates for healthy school meals, the Culinary Challenge invites middle and high school students from across the D.C. region to craft dishes that both taste good and meet federal nutrition and cost guidelines.
This year’s competition drew approximately 200 attendees and featured 10 teams from eight schools in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Montgomery counties.
Falls Church High School won the breakfast category with a vegetarian breakfast burrito, beating out C.D. Hylton High School from Prince William and Takoma Park Middle School from Montgomery. Meanwhile, Montgomery’s Shady Grove Middle School whipped up a Mexican street corn quinoa salad to win the snack category.
Both categories were voted on by members of the public, who got the chance to taste the various dishes.
The lunch category, however, was determined by a panel of judges that included chefs, restauranteurs, nonprofit leaders, The Ritz-Carlton D.C. General Manager Oliver Lau, and Bee Thorp, a farm-to-school specialist with the Virginia Department of Education.
In addition to coming up with a recipe idea and knowing how to cook it, students had to learn how to price ingredients and work with vendors to ensure their dish was nutritionally balanced and cost less than $2.70 per serving, Herndon High School family and consumer science teacher Lauren Spector told Fairfax County Public Schools.
Mentors were on hand to give students guidance before and during the contest.
“The dishes these students presented were so well done with sophisticated flavors and preparation,” said Silver Diner executive chef and co-founder Ype Von Hengst, who has served as a student mentor for seven years now. “These take school lunches to a whole new level.”
The Herndon team suggested to FCPS that the fluffiness and seasoning of the garlic soup dippers helped secure their victory.
A C.D. Hylton team placed second in the lunch category for its edamame soup with brown rice, vegetable dumplings and mango berry mousse, while students from Luther Jackson Middle School in Merrifield came in third with a Beantastic Medley, fried okra with mint chutney, and crunchy munchy salad and caramelized banana parfait.
As the category’s winner, the Herndon students will now see their gnocchi soup, dippers and zesty sunshine salad — which consists of romaine lettuce, clementines, cranberries and feta cheese — incorporated into the cafeteria menu at FCPS and, potentially, other school systems.
Hoping to keep up with changing tastes, FCPS Food and Nutrition Services now regularly welcomes student input on its offerings. Just last month, hundreds of students provided feedback on proposed new dishes at a food show in Chantilly.
Founded in 2010 by a group of Fairfax County parents, Real Food for Kids introduced its Culinary Challenge in 2012 out of a desire to give students a say in what they eat, according to Executive Director Bonnie Moore.
“We strive to improve food and nutrition security to school children by increasing access to healthy food in schools,” Moore said. “The Culinary Challenge helps us shine a light on this need, with students showing us how it can be done.”
