Jr. Chef Competition Gives Students Real World Culinary Experience

By Jackie Romain,

Sullivan University, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and USDA Food and Nutrition Service Southeast Regional Office partnered to host the annual Southeast Regional Jr. Chef Competition at Sullivan University in Louisville, KY, in May 2022. High School teams produced delicious healthy meals in the competition that has taken place for more than a decade. Winners receive college scholarships and the championship trophy. Judges praised all participating teams and shared information about opportunities in the culinary world.

Students toured the university and interacted with culinary teachers and their high school peers from across the region. All teams made entrees that met USDA’s National School Lunch Program standards and could be replicated in their own school cafeterias.

This year, the team from Georgia’s Lanier College Career Academy High School in Gainesville, won the competition. Other teams from Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee performed well and made it a very close competition.