There is nothing like some good food to win over hearts and minds. (Click on any image for a larger version)

Earlier this week the Milton Public Schools hosted its own version of a popular cooking show with its own in-house “Iron Chef Jr.” competition. The event was designed to expose students to new and exciting food choices. Twenty elementary school students, divided into six teams, were joined by local chefs to prepare a meal from a “secret basket” of ingredients.

Each team was required to prepare a school lunch for the judges, adhering to the guidelines of the Milton Public School Food Service program. Students prepared the meals with the help of the local chefs, plated the meals and served them to the judges. The winning team, “Team Awesome,” was comprised of the following fifth-grade students: Brendan Cullen of Collicot; Janaya Holley of Cunningham; Claire Walko of Tucker; Chloe McCarthy of Glover along with Chef Meghan Thompson from Steele and Rye.

The following local chefs participated:

• Tony Dirienzo from Abby Park
• Suzanne Lombardi from The Plate
• Meghan Thompson from Steel & Rye
• Lauren Barone from Seasoned Palette Catering
• Stephanie McFadden from Cooking In With Stephanie
• Alex Tillotson from Whole Foods in Dedham

The competition was judged by a panel of local “celebrity judges,” which included Superintendent Mary Gormley, Milton High School Principal James Jette, Milton Police Chief Richard Wells, State Representative Walter Timilty, and DESE Director of Nutrition Program and Services Katie Millet.

This program was overseen by Milton Public Schools Food Service Director Jacqueline Morgan, along with members of her staff. Assistant coordinator Maureen Buckley from Whole Foods in Dedham will be on hand to help our students with the preparation. The show was filmed by Mike Lynch of Milton Access Television and will be aired at a later date.

Milton School Committee member Becky Padera initially conceived of the idea of bringing this program to Milton after seeing a video of this type of program in California. Funding for this program came from a grant provided by Mass Action for Healthy Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving better nutrition in schools and fighting childhood obesity.