Otselic Valley Central School District

The judges are on their way, and they are plenty hungry. You have 20 minutes to prepare, cook, plate, and serve them special hamburgers. How will you make your burger special and win the Burger Challenge? That was the opportunity for teams of student chefs in Ms. Parrott’s Food Science class, where lucky judges came in search of the Ultimate Burger. These 11th grade cooks had varying degrees of experience making and plating burgers before competition day, but they'd become skilled at a range of life skills: recipe research, planning, sourcing ingredients, kitchen tool use, teamwork, adapting to the unexpected (this bottle is empty!), time management, presentation/plating, clean up, and leaving their guests well fed and content. With the scent of sizzling burgers in the background, student teams worked under pressure as Ms. Parrott regularly called out time left. Twenty minutes felt like five. Judges waited patiently as they watched the teams finish up burger plates with flourish and finesse, then briefly describe their secret ingredients (a spice rub, Mr. Sauceman’s Homemade Sauce, pats of butter, a steak seasoning). The tasting, though? This was not about wolfing down a bite and moving on. Judges nibbled, considered, and completed their questionnaires with thoughtful attention. It may not have been as intense as “Chopped,” the cooking reality TV show that students modeled in previous class projects, but it was enough. After a bit, students stepped into the art room till all judging and eating were done. The numerical scores were as close as butter on pancakes, but one team prevailed: Cassidy Will and Brandon Miron-Blanco! Congratulations go out to all teams for their delicious, successful work. Our creative cooks will continue to make good things. (OV always comes through when staff participation is requested, including the meaningful contributions of our neutral judges. Many thanks to Mrs. Mosely, Mrs. Whorrall, Miss Lawrence, and Ms. Rice for joining us, and giving thoughtful feedback. There might be a line for those wanting to judge this competition next year...) [See more in the Facebook photo album from the event.]