Starr Co. 4H’ers Develop Culinary Skills

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All of us know the importance of eating healthy and perhaps some of us have valuable culinary skills.  However, Starr county 4H’ers are getting an early start (some 9 years old) at learning a life skill that will serve them for life.  Even at this tender young age they are acquiring skills that will help them become proficient in all aspects of food preparation and nutrition.

A total of 11 4H’ers participated in the traditional 4H Food Show on December 4th in Falfurrias bringing back an array of Blue and Red awards for their entries.  These 4H’ers made a nutrition presentation along with a question and answer interview for the district competition.  4H’ers represented the following Starr county 4H Clubs:

Vaquero 4H Club
*Janay Rocha
*Kassandra Ramirez
*Rolando Ramirez
*Alexander Allen
*Crystal Alaniz

Rattler 4H Club
*Sara Mariscal
* Hilary Barrera

San Isidro 4H Club
*Grant Noles
*Liza Saenz
*Marco Garza
*Genaro Elizondo

Top awards were won by Janay Rocha who was top winner in the Junior Main Dish and Cassandra Ramirez & Liza Saenz were 1st place alternates to State Food Show.

A new contest in it’s second year, “4H Food Challenge” is competitive and inspiring.  It is modeled after the T.V. program Iron Chef.  A team of 4H’ers are given an array of food items and they are asked to prepare a dish.  They must then make a presentation to a panel of judges covering such areas as food safety, nutrition, cost, and preparation procedures.  Two teams advanced to the district competition in Falfurrias

    Team A members
    *Sara Mariscal
    *Hilary Barrera
    *Janay Rocha
    *Alexander Allen
    *Crystal Alaniz

    Team B members
    *Armando Reyes
    *Genaro “Gino” Garza
    *Marco Garza
    *Jacob Saenz

Both teams brought back top awards.  When visiting with the participants they felt the most valuable experience was learning to work as a team and dividing up the responsibilities.  Preparation for the event included several lab sessions where the groups prepared food and discussed the results.

Congratulations to the participants and to their parents and leaders who supported them through this learning adventure.

Cutline Rio Team Picture: L to R : Sarah Mariscal, Hilary Barrera, Janay Rocha, Alexandra Allen, and Crystal Alaniz.

Cutline San Isidro Team Picture: L to R: Armando Reyes, Geno Garza, Genaro Elizondo, Marco Garza, and Jacob Saenz.

Cutline Food Show Participants Picture (top picture): L to R back row: Grant Noles, Kassandra Ramirez, Janay Rocha and Lisa Saenz. L to R second row: Genaro Elizondo, Sarah Mariscal, Alexandra Allen, and Hilary Barrera. L to R front row: Jacob Saenz, Rolando Ramirez, and Marco Garza.