Owatonna students cook up chili for competition on Owatonna

OWATONNA — Students filled rooms at Owatonna High School with the aroma of freshly cooked chili on Wednesday, as the Foods I class competed in a Chili Cook-off.

“This wraps up our unit on herbs and spices,” said Denise Lage, who teaches the class to students in the ninth and 10th grade at OHS.

Lage said in preparation for the event, the students had to master everything from cooking equipment and vegetable cuts to measuring equivalents. But it all culminated in an aromatic test of the students skills on the stove.

“They each started by making their own individual recipe,” said Lage.

Lage said after the students proofed their recipes, they moved on to create a recipe in a group of other students, and proof the group recipe. Then they conjured up their sweet and spicy soups for the competition.

As the students sat around indulging in their own soup recipes on Wednesday, many of them said they had already made chili at home.

“It was different making it in class,” said Cameron Heide, a sophomore at OHS.

And using special ingredients like corn, pico de gallo, or lime juice, the students got mixed reactions from the judges.

“I think we were the only group that used lime juice,” said Laura Ebeling, a ninth grade student. She said her group used ground turkey and turkey bacon instead of ground beef. “It’s a healthier option,” she said.

In two different class sessions, students competed for two different titles on Wednesday: Teachers’ Choice and Judges’ Choice.

Many teachers, like Lynn Broberg, tried the chili over the lunch hours at the high school. But they were also joined by volunteers from the community and the district’s own Grandparents for Education, a group of senior volunteers.

“The staff have been judging chili for many years,” said Lage, “but this was the first year of giving the grandparents a chance at judging the chili.”

Most of the students said it was fun to create their own chili recipe in class, and they even came up with unique garnishes for each dish. But after a long session of eating and judging on Wednesday, students got a lesson in cleaning up, and they made fast tracks to clear the tables and sinks before the bell.

Melissa Kaelin can be reached at 444-2372.

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