Young Cooks Recipe Challenge | Partnership for Food Safety Education

THE CHALLENGE ENDS IN…

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Monday, March 22, 2021 – Monday, May 3, 2021

Kids and teens in 1st to 12th grade are invited to enter the
Young Cooks Recipe Challenge!

Who can enter:

Individuals – 1^stto 5^th grade
Individuals – 6^thto 12^th grade
Teams – 1^stto 5^th grade
Teams – 6^thto 12^th grade

A team can be a class, club or organization (scouts, 4H, Boys & Girls Club, etc.), group of friends or family. If there are kids of different ages on the team, the age of the oldest cook is used.

Whether you’re entering as an individual or a team, an adult (age 18+) must complete the online entry form. This adult can be a parent/guardian, teacher, or group leader. Teachers and group leaders may be asked to provide parental permission forms.

How to enter:

Create an original healthy lunch recipe for either school or home created by you or your team (no desserts).

The recipe must have at least two different ingredients from this list below (example: 1 fruit plus 1 vegetable, 1 protein plus 1 grain, etc.):
a. Fruit
b. Vegetable
c. Whole grain such as oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta, etc.
d. Lean protein like beans, fish, lean meats, nuts, etc.

Most importantly, your recipe must include food safety instructions from the Safe Recipe Style Guide. This reminds anyone making your recipe to wash their hands, cook their food to safe temperatures, or other important steps!
Take a nice photo. Everyone wants to see your creation!
Complete the online entry form, upload your recipe, and attach the photo of your dish.
You can submit up to two recipes per person, team or household.
If you use other recipes as inspiration, you must include your own unique ingredient and cooking instructions. Recipes will be checked to make sure they haven’t been copied.

Get the Official Rules here!

Learn more about how to write a recipe with food safety instructions!

Prizes

A Grand Prize winner and three finalists will be announced at an online event on June 7, 2021, as part of World Food Safety Day.

The Grand Prize winner will receive a $100 gift card for a major online retailer. The remaining three finalists will receive a $50 gift card for a major online retailer. All prizes will go to the adult on the entry form to distribute accordingly. For winning teams, the total prize is a $50 or $100 gift card for a major online retailer — not per person.

Winners in all categories will be featured in the Partnership for Food Safety Education (PFSE) blog and social media. They will also have their recipe featured in an online cookbook that will be distributed to thousands!

Many will enter, but only a few will win.

Below are three dishes from last year’s recipe contest submitted by young cooks!

Judging

Every recipe that follows the directions (qualifying entries) will go into the first round of judging for their category (individuals 1^stto 5^th grade; individuals 6^thto 12^th grade; Team 1^st to 5^th grade; or Team 6^thto 12^th grade). The finalist from each category will then compete for the Grand Prize!

Every recipe will be made as it was written and be judged based on the following questions:

Taste: 25 points

Does this recipe taste great from first bite to last?
Will both kids and adults like it?
Would you make it again based on taste alone?
Does it have a delicious flavor combination?
Did it make your mouth happy?

Visual Appeal: 25 points

Does this recipe look nice on a plate or in a baking dish?
Do your eyes make you want to eat it?
Do your eyes make you want to eat this before you even smell or taste it?
Would you post a picture of this on social media (Instagram, Facebook, etc.)?
Is it pretty enough to make for company?

Creativity: 25 points 

Does this recipe use common ingredients in an unusual way?
Did this recipe have something that made it different from others like it?
Were the ingredients easy to find?
Did you have fun making this recipe?
Did you read the recipe and think “oh, this sounds interesting”?

Following Directions & Using the Safe Recipe Style Guide: 25 points

Does this include at least two of the following? Fruit, vegetable, whole grain or healthy protein.
Is the ingredients list complete and in the order you use them?
Are the instructions easy to follow?
Would you eat this for lunch?
Does the recipe include all the necessary food safety prompts as suggested by the Safe Recipe Style Guide?