Northern High Team Wins 2025 North Carolina Jr. Chef Cook-Off

While five high school finalist teams competed in the annual North Carolina Jr. Chef cook-off this month to create unique school lunch entrée recipes, the “Knights of Culinary” team from Durham Public Schools’ Northern High won first place in the 2025 NC Jr. Chef Competition. Their chipotle beef and sweet potato Skillet won top honors in the competition and a silver medal.

The Northern High team worked to create a hearty, tasty and nutritious recipe that they and their student peers would love. The Jr. Chefs sauteed ground beef, onions and peppers with a variety of spices and added roasted corn, collard greens and sweet potatoes. They topped off the recipe with cheese and a homemade avocado jalapeno crema. The recipe featured North Carolina-grown beef, onions, peppers, collard greens and sweet potatoes.

The “Cloudy with a Chance of Pasta” team from Martin County High won second place and a silver medal for their delicious, comfort food Chicken Parmesan Pasta recipe accompanied by a fresh salad with homemade apple cider vinaigrette. The “Blazin’ Bulldogs” team from Thomasville High with Thomasville City Schools placed third and earned a silver medal for their Chicken Philly Cheese Bowl, featuring student favorite flavors and ingredients. The “Gordon Ramsey’s Minions” from Ashe County High also received a silver medal for their creative Baked Chicken Empanadas, accompanied by roasted sweet potato rounds along with a homemade bean dip and salsa verde.  

All the teams showcased their knowledge and skills in the culinary competition. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green offered his congratulations to all the teams.

“Congratulations to each of the NC Jr. Chef teams,” Green said. “The NC Jr. Chef Competition is a wonderful collaboration among school and community partners to offer students an opportunity to explore future career options and apply lessons learned in the classroom to a real-world application in creating recipes for appealing, nutritious school meals.”

The high school students were challenged to work with their teachers and school nutrition administrators to develop a creative recipe for a school lunch entrée that met a list of requirements: compliant with school nutrition program standards, included at least two North Carolina-grown products and one USDA Foods item, replicable by school nutrition programs and appealing to students. For the competition, all finalist teams submitted an application to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) with their recipe, recipe photo, nutrient and cost analysis, a work plan for preparing the entree within 90-minutes and a video of their team preparing and plating their creation. The Jr. Chefs also participated in a virtual interview to present their entree to a panel of evaluators. Teams were evaluated on their recipe development, use of locally grown ingredients, culinary and food safety skills, organization, teamwork, knowledge of nutrition and farm to school, and public presentation.  

“In working with their local school nutrition programs, students learn about and appreciate all that goes on behind the scenes to create recipes for school meals that not only meet required nutrition guidelines, but also appeal to students,” NCDPI’s Senior Director for School Nutrition said Rachel Findley. “In addition, they learn about farm to school and how schools and farms can work together to provide agriculture and nutrition education and incorporate locally grown foods in school meals.”

NC Jr. Chef finalist teams were recognized through a virtual awards ceremony. The students received their own NC Jr. Chef coats and hats. They also receive certificates and medals based on team scores. First, second and third-place teams receive plaques to display in their schools, and the first-place team has the honor of hosting the competition trophy until the next cook-off. Sullivan University in Kentucky will offer scholarships to the members of the top three teams. The first place NC Jr. Chef team advances to compete at the regional level in the Southeast Jr. Chef Competition at Sullivan University in Kentucky in May.

The Junior Chef Competition was created to inspire the next generation of culinary professionals, stimulate interest in locally produced agricultural products, increase participation in School Nutrition Programs, provide nutrition education, and encourage healthy eating habits. The NC Jr. Chef Competition was planned by the Offices of School Nutrition and Career and Technical Education at the Department of Public Instruction in partnership with the N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services’ Farm to School Program,  Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina, and the School Nutrition Association of North Carolina.

USDA and NCDPI are equal opportunity providers and employers. Additional information about the NC Jr. Chef Competition is available online. More information regarding School Nutrition Programs in North Carolina can be found on the Office of School Nutrition website.
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