It was rather intimidating to hold a judge’s seat at Aloun Farms’ fourth annual Ewa Sweet Onion Culinary Competition on Saturday at Kapolei High School, where eight public high school teams were to present their best dishes, using Aloun’s onion, broccoli and corn, initially to an all-chef panel.

But the ever-bustling Sam Choy, who juggles commitments internationally, was called away just a day before the event. So there I was, sitting alongside chefs Keoni Chang of Foodland Super Market and Jason Peel of Kapiolani Community College, an instructor who attends to the school’s highly rated competition team.

It was exciting for us to see schools from across Oahu compete. The lineup: Nanakuli, Campbell, Waipahu, Kapolei, Radford, Pearl City, Roosevelt and Moanalua.

Sure, I was a bit out of my depth as the two chefs discussed bechamel sauce and debated the definition of a relish. But mostly, it was the dishes themselves that had me wondering whether I had enough of a refined palate to note anything beyond “yum.” The high level of cooking that students perform is surely beyond the abilities of most home cooks.

The criteria for the contest were my guide. The teams were to address creativity and practicality, or a display of a new concept or old idea, modernized; locality and seasonality (at least 60 percent of the ingredients had to be local); serving methods and presentation, meaning dishes needed to be appealing to look at, served at the right temperature and easy to eat; flavor profile; and texture and doneness.

In the end, first place — and a $3,000 culinary program fund — went to Roosevelt, which delivered a tasty poke plate that capitalized on the freshness of Aloun’s products.

Kapolei took second and $2,000 for its Southern-themed Kauai shrimp and corn grits, plus a decadent broccoli fritter. Waipahu came in third with what I thought of as a gourmet Hawaiian plate, with pan-fried monchong, broccoli leaf puree, shaved onion, tomato and grilled corn, garnished with micro greens and edible flowers. Gorgeously plated, the dish was truly a work of art and earned the program $1,000.