Elwood Students Win First Junior Iron Chef Challenge

By Alison Demaria

Students of the Elwood School District recently took part in the first Long Island Junior Iron Chef competition sponsored by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County and Whole Foods Market. The Elwood-John H. Glenn High School team, Dough Boys, comprised of 10th-graders Chris Bosco, Jacob Pagan and Michael Sgambati and under the leadership of team supervisor Sam Pagan, took first place in the competition. The winning recipe of black bean burgers was a big hit with the judges.

The goal of the competition was to encourage young students to embrace new skills in cooking that support a healthier lifestyle, a criterion that students were expected to follow when creating a recipe. Student recipes could not contain meat, fish or nuts and needed to include local seasonal food and USDA-approved ingredients. In preparation for this competition, students researched ingredients, practiced their recipes and took an educational tour of Whole Foods.

Also recognized for their efforts at this event were students Kristen Laub, who was representing the Wilson Tech team known as Team Kombert, and Jason Foerster, Ashley Mullan and Taylor Williams of the Elwood Middle School Home and Career Club, who called themselves “Elwood Eats.”

“This was a phenomenal experience for these students,” remarked Rosa Glass, Elwood Middle School team supervisor and teacher in the district. “I am so proud of all of the students who participated. They worked hard on their dishes and learned a great deal about nutrition and choosing healthy ingredients.”

 Photo above: The Elwood-John H. Glenn High School team, Dough Boys, comprised of 10th-graders (left to right) Jacob Pagan, Michael Sgambati and Chris Bosco and under the leadership of team supervisor Sam Pagan, took first place in the first Long Island Junior Iron Chef competition. 

Photo above: Elwood Middle School students (left to right) Jason Foerster, Ashley Mullan and Taylor Williams of the Elwood Middle School Home and Career Club participated in the first Long Island Junior Iron Chef challenge with team supervisor and district teacher Rosa Glass.