Five Seneca Middle School student-chefs showcased their cooking creativity as they secured a first place finish at the ninth annual Junior Iron Chef competition held at Whole Foods Market in Lake Grove.

For the fourth consecutive year, Seneca assembled a team of talented student-chefs who finished first amongst junior chefs from across Long Island. All students attended the competition with a prepared recipe and cooked their dish in the allotted one-hour cook time. 

The educational cooking event encourages students to learn and execute the culinary skills necessary to prepare dishes essential for a healthy lifestyle. The competition promotes the use of local food to support farmers and the environment. Each recipe was judged on taste, presentation, creativity, use of local ingredients, use of USDA ingredients, healthy choices and cafeteria readiness. 

Each team worked closely with its family and consumer science teachers to develop recipes and practiced for many hours leading up to the contest. Seneca’s team, “The GOATS,” composed of eighth grade students Leah Ferrara, Sofia Iacono, Andrew Macchio, Gianna Scolaro and Jackie Volo, secured the first place finish with their dish, Caribbean Breakfast Salad.  

The winning dish consisted of a fluffy French toast base topped with a hearty slice of grilled pineapple, topped with an arugula salad covered in a raspberry Dijon glaze.