The Team Nutrition Training Grants are awarded as part of USDA's Team Nutrition initiative, which provides resources, training, and nutrition education lessons for schools and child care providers. And this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Team Nutrition initiative. Wisconsin Team Nutrition has used the funding to build out their healthy cooking contest for the states’ middle and high school students.
By Kelly Williams, RDN, CD, and Alicia Dill, RDN, CD, CDE; Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, School Nutrition Team
Thanks to funding from a USDA Team Nutrition Training Grant, Wisconsin Team Nutrition has been able to expand its interactive cooking contest, Whipping Up Wellness, Wisconsin Student Chef Competition. Now in its third year, this popular contest combines the excitement of competition with the principles of healthy eating, while creating an engaging opportunity for nutrition education.
The competition targets Wisconsin middle and high school students. To compete, students must form a team of three to five students. Once formed, students participate in the first round of competition, a recipe contest.
For the recipe contest, student teams create and submit a healthy recipe to our panel of judges. The recipes are then scored based on their nutritional quality, culinary skills, presentation, and creativity. To add a twist to this round, we have previously asked teams to meet special standards such as incorporating locally grown foods, Wisconsin dairy products, and items similar to those available through the USDA Foods program.
The top five teams are invited to participate in the second round, the cooking competition. During this round, students prepare their recipes and plate their completed dishes in the state-of-the-art food lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Teams deliver their dish and conduct a 10-minute presentation on the development of their recipe, the appeal of their recipe, and the results of their school taste test. Judges score the final dishes on taste, appearance, originality, student appeal, and overall presentation, and at the end of the competition, winners are announced.
Over its three year history, Whipping Up Wellness, Wisconsin Student Chef Competition has become immensely popular. The number of students participating in the contest has more than tripled, and our student teams have wowed the judges with incredible dishes such as Baked Italian Pasta, Savory Wild Rice Quiche, and Butternut Squash Lasagna.
The winning dishes, along with other qualifying recipes, have been compiled into a Whipping Up Wellness Cookbook. To view, please visit the Wisconsin Team Nutrition website.