PUTNEY — Putney Family Services, Putney Central School, and the Putney Co-op sponsored two teams that participated in the fifth annual Jr. Iron Chef competition on March 24 in Burlington.
Jr. Iron Chef is a statewide competition that gives students an opportunity to gain hands-on experience preparing and cooking nutritious, farm-fresh foods. The competition highlights local agriculture and encourages students to make healthy eating choices and understand more about nutrition, farm-fresh foods, the culinary arts, and school food systems. The teams selected and practiced their recipes before the competition.
Team Will of the Whisk whipped together their presentation of “Smackin' Cheese.” This dish highlighted five seasonal Vermont ingredients that included cheddar cheese, parsnips, carrots, butternut squash, and tomatoes. The team was coached by Kerri Harlow. Team members include Sean Donovan, Breanna Sheehan, Susanna Strothman, and Chris Renouf.
The second team, Narwhal Chefs, was coached by Kristina Israel. The team members are Adam Hinckley, Piper Field, Audrey Maples, Izabel Estrin, and Kira Boucher. Their recipe was “Three-Way Tofu Chili,” and based on a Cincinnati regional favorite. This is a chili served over spaghetti and topped with cheddar cheese. Their five local ingredients included root vegetables such as parsnips, celeriac, and carrots.