Boys & Girls Club members from our 12 after-school program sites raced to beat the clock at the 2nd Annual Cook-Off held June 18th in the Centre Street gym. Participants were given one hour to complete food courses in four categories: side dish, main entrée, fruit creation, and beverage, in the hope of earning a first place prize for their creations. 

Teams of mini-chefs from each program site worked to prepare dishes that were scored by volunteer judges from the Boys & Girls Club staff and community volunteers. Each site’s cooking club earned points based on cleanliness, taste, and presentation.

Raving about the chicken and pineapple wrap prepared by Club kids from the Jefferson School, David Whitehead, pharmaceutical executive and Be Great, Graduate mentor stated, “I’m glad I came hungry. Everything was absolutely excellent and I’m glad I got to participate as a judge.”

The most popular fruit dish of the competition was also the first place winner. It was prepared by the Mott School kids and showed their Boys & Girls Club pride with the letters B, G, and C decorated in variations of fruit.

“I really love fruit, all different kinds,” says Saniah Kinsey, fifth-grader at the Mott School. “So I really wanted to work on the fruit dish and get creative by showing our Boys & Girls Club pride.”

CLUB FULL OF TREATS – Boys & Girls Club members from Mott School stand in celebration with their after-school cooking instructor Latisha Sutphin, to display their “Club Pride” fruit arrangement which earned first place in fruit dish entries at the 2nd Annual Cook-Off. View More Photos

Along with the first-place fruit dish winners from Mott, Centre Street middle-school tweens took first place for their beverage and side dish entries, and the Jefferson School kids won for their main entrée.

“I didn’t taste anything that I didn’t like, so this was one of the hardest decisions that I ever had to make,” says Reggie Coleman, associate executive director. “Now I know how judges feel at our Youth of the Year Dinner.”

The cooking program is a dynamic wellness program that demonstrates how to shop and prepare food that is nutritionally sound. Each session includes a nutrition lesson and discussing the relationship between food and culture.