Junior Cooking Challenge

Last year the fifth-grade students of McKinley Elementary School in Petaluma participated in the Conscious Kitchen Junior Cooking Challenge. The program, co-sponsored by dairy producer Clover Sonoma, as well as Sonoma’s Oliver’s Markets and eight well-known Sonoma County chefs who volunteered their time, was designed to introduce students to the food system, food preparation and the importance of FLOSN meals.

Throughout the year, students took field trips to organic farms, restaurants, markets and farmers’ markets, paired with a mentor chef. The program culminated in the Junior Cooking Challenge, held on Earth Day at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, in which the student groups presented their FLOSN meals, all produced for under $2.25 per meal. The winning dish was “Cali Korean BBQ and Mary’s Chicken Rice Bowl with a side of roasted greens and things; honeyed citrus, yogurt, pistachio crunch; and a refreshing coconut agua fresca,” produced by the team guided by Chef Mark Stark.

“Part of our ‘Clover Cares’ mission is to empower future generations,” says Kristel Corson, vice president of sales and marketing at Clover Sonoma. “We believe so much in what Conscious Kitchen does.” The hope is to replicate the program and expand into schools across Sonoma County.