April 4, 2023

Young Chefs Challenge!

By Amanda Worman Holmgaard, Assistant Executive Director

Spring has sprung! And here at The Good Fight things are heating up outside and inside. Every spring we kick off our Young Chefs Challenge in partnership with the YMCA Teen Center. Two teams of middle and high school students go head to head in competition for the traveling trophy- one team from the Y, under Coach Lou, and one team from The Good Fight, under Coach Nate.

Our team in the kitchen on competition day

The competition runs across the course of March, April, and May, with one competition each month. There are always three in-house practice sessions before a competition. This is where students learn the basics of food prep, food and utensil safety, and plating and presentation. Here at The Good Fight our kids are enjoying practicing in our newly updated kitchen space, made possible through generous donations from Mayo Clinic Health System and various community members who contributed via the La Crosse Community Foundation’s Community Giving Catalog!

For each competition students will be preparing one of three separate proteins along with accompanying side dishes. This year’s proteins are fish, chicken, and lamb. Our local business partner, Hyvee, has generously provided gift cards toward the purchasing of supplies for all of our competitions, which happen side-by-side in the commercial grade kitchens in The Kumm Center at Western Technical College. There we have local leaders and celebrities come to judge the meals and vote on that round’s winner. Through these competitions kids learn about teamwork, healthy competition, and being gracious winners or losers. Community members are welcome to attend and observe! Dates will be posted below.

The protein for round one was fish and our kids prepared spinach-stuffed salmon, with grilled asparagus and sauteed cherry tomatoes and potatoes on the side. The competition was fierce, but The Good Fight team emerged victorious in round one, with a score of 70-57! Here is the recipe they used, try it for yourself and see if you think it’s a winner too!