4-H Food contests

There are two main foodsfocused contests held in Benton County 4-H early in the year. The first is the 4-H Favorite Foods Contest. This is an introductory contest where youth prepare a dish in advance, bring it along with a table setting, and interview with a friendly judge. This contest is open to all youth in Benton County ages 5-19. Another portion of the 4-H Favorite Foods Contest is the Measuring Contest where youth demonstrate their skills measuring both solid and liquid ingredients. It may sound simple, but many in the community don’t know the intricacies of measuring flour without compacting it or where to gage the liquid measurements. These are practiced skills the 4-H members learn in order to master the foods project.

Benton county and Linn county Extension programs may offer opportunities that are only open to the residents of their respective counties. Please check with your county Extension Office if you have any questions about participation eligibility for specific programs.

On Saturday, February 4th, thirty-two youth came to the Benton County Extension Office to participate in the 4-H Favorite Foods Contest. They kept the judges busy all day with tasty dishes and made

BankingwithaLocalFocus: it very difficult for the judges to determine top awards. This contest will help the participants prepare for the next 4-H foods contest coming up in April.

The second contest is the 4-H Food Preparation Contest. In this contest, youth bring ingredients and equipment they’ll need to a kitchen station where they prepare their dish in front of the judge. Much like the 4-H Favorite Foods Contest, participants have a decorative table setting and interview with the judge after they’ve finished preparing the dish. This year, Benton and Linn County are teaming up to have a combined county contest held at the Linn County Extension Office on April 21st and 22nd. This contest is a qualifying event for the state level competition as well. These contests teach applicable life skills beyond simply learning to cook. Participants learn to be organized and come with the ingredients needed for their dish, keep on task for the timed portions of the events, and communicate effectively with a judge.

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