Teriyaki chicken summer rolls with Sriracha sesame sauce. Stuffed chicken thighs with quinoa pilaf and strawberry-spinach salad. Sound amazing? The dishes were indeed delicious, but perhaps most amazing was that they were prepared by kids.
Age was no barrier to excellence in the food presented Saturday at the third annual 808 Jr. Chef Showdown competition at Palama Settlement, where six Kalihi teams presented their tastiest, most healthful recipes built around federal MyPlate guidelines and chicken thighs, an affordable, accessible ingredient.
Teams were from such programs as the After-School All-Stars at Dole Middle School, Kalihi YMCA, Palama Settlement and Kokua Kalihi Valley.
While each team went home with an award spotlighting its strength in the contest, the first-place winner was Ehuola Mauka, a group from Kokua Kalihi Valley. The team’s Hawaiian Chinese chicken stir-fry featured such traditional Hawaiian foods as kalo (taro), uala (sweet potato, served as a hearty patty), palula (sweet potato leaves), hoio (fiddlehead fern), pele (edible hibiscus), olena (turmeric) and coconut oil. A light seasoning of Hawaiian salt allowed the natural flavors of each ingredient to shine.
In fact, two Kokua Kalihi Valley teams took out traditional wooden boards and pounding stones to prepare kalo for their dishes. All of the teams displayed their own strengths in knife and cooking skills, food-safety practices and teamwork.
The students’ proficiency was not happenstance. Kapiolani Community College, through chef-instructor Daniel Leung, provided hours of instruction to adult leaders and students, and KCC students were on hand to lend support.
The rest of the teams, dishes and the awards:
>> Awesome flavors: ABDV Team from Kalihi YMCA, for its teriyaki chicken summer rolls with Sriracha sesame sauce
>> Most variety of fruits and vegetables: Team Palama, stuffed chicken thighs with quinoa pilaf and strawberry salad with orange-honey dressing
>> Best presentation: Team Dreamville from Kalihi YMCA, Hawaiian chicken tacos with pineapple salsa
>> Best use of MyPlate guidelines: Ehuola Makai from Kokua Kalihi Valley, Hawaiian chicken stew
>> Outstanding teamwork: After-School All-Stars at Dole Middle School, Dole chop suey
Beyond the obvious lessons in life skills and healthy choices, the students took with them encouragement.
At the end of the day, along with praise for jobs well done, Leung issued an open invitation to the students to visit KCC’s culinary school for a personal tour.
Jill Puletasi, principal of nearby Kaiulani Elementary School, said college could be in the cards for the students if they aspired to cook. She urged them to believe in themselves and continue to work hard.
“If you want to cook, do it. There is so much talent here,” she said.
Other judges were chef Eddie Mafnas of Firehouse Food Truck; Todd Morgan, AlohaCare; Melissa Guzman, National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii; and this writer.
