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By Melody Jameson
melody@observernews.net
Do you provide instruction related to food preparation?
Are you interested in steering youngsters to healthy snacking?
Does using Florida fruits and veggies in your food prep appeal to you?
If so, the state’s Department of Agriculture wants to hear from you. In fact, the department would like to recognize your efforts with an onsite demonstration of its “Xtreme Cuisine” menu by Executive Chef Justin Timineri for as many as 75 students, plus cookbooks.
The department’s Xtreme Cuisine program, aimed at encouraging healthy snacking by the 10 to 15 year-old set and addressing nutritional aspects of obesity in youngsters, has been ongoing for the last three years, according to Yolanda Roundtree, a marketing supervisor in the state department. And cooking classes for middle school students have been conducted around the state from Tallahassee to Naples, Tampa to Miami.
But, for the first time, the program is being taken to another level this school year – competition, Roundtree said. The “Xtreme Cuisine Demo Chef Contest” will be held from September 15 to December 15, with December 20 the entry deadline.
The competition is open to all teachers of cooking courses or food preparation specialists around the state, Roundtree said. These categories could include cooking instructors in either public or private schools, agri-science teachers, school food and nutrition managers, youth activity coordinators with county cooperative extension offices or Future Farmer of America chapters or Florida Farm Bureau groups, for example, she added.
To enter, the instructor must conduct a Xtreme Cuisine class involving a minimum of 10 students in which they prepare at least two of the Xtreme Cuisine recipes using six or more choices of fresh fruits and/or vegetables grown in Florida. The classes must use the Xtreme Cuisine curriculum which is available online and can be downloaded free of charge at
www.Florida-Agriculture.com/education/xtreme.htm.
When the class is concluded, the teacher is to complete an entry form, adding appropriate photographs and what other documentation substantiates the class undertaking, Roundtree said. Entries must be postmarked on or before December 20 and will be accepted in any of three out-of-the-ordinary categories.
Three winners from around the state are expected, the supervisor added. The first completed entry received, backed with documentation, will be a winner based on the earliest postmark. The teacher or coordinator instructing the greatest number of students in one class also will be a winner. And the class which demonstrates the most impressive degree of knowledge gained from the local class will be yet another winner. In the latter category, student knowledge gained can be shown with essays, photos, quotes, drawings or any other suitable medium produced by the participating youngsters, Roundtree said.
The trio of winning classes will be notified by January 15, 2009, she added.
The Xtreme Cuisine curriculum includes kid-friendly recipes for such snacks as whole wheat pizzas and fresh fruit parfaits, Roundtree noted. Asked about recipes for use of leading crops produced in Central Florida, she said the department’s cookbook, The Florida Chef – Flavorful Seasons, contains a mouth watering recipe for Strawberry Tiramisu and a “wonderful” Eggplant Parmesan,” along with many seafood recipes. Directions are available online at www.TheFloridaChef.com, she added.
The department’s objective in sponsoring the contest, Roundtree emphasized, is first to teach youngsters , who often are making or choosing snacks for themselves and siblings at home or in stores, to opt for tasty, healthy choices they can make themselves over excessive sugar, salt and fats. “Instead of automatically reaching for junk foods, we want them to explore healthy alternatives by using fresh Florida fruits and vegetables as ingredients for fun and delicious snacks,” she asserted. Florida food prep teachers, she indicated, can play a major role in achieving that objective.
All food items will be provided the classes winning demonstrations of the advanced cooking techniques and recipes for a class of up to 75 youngsters under the direction of Chef Timineri. The department can be contacted by telephone at 850/922-9828.
©2008 Melody Jameson
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