The Bee County 4-H Program held its county level food show on Oct. 27 at the Bee County Expo Center.

The 4-H Food Show is an annual contest in which the competitors prepare food dishes for competition. Contestants are interviewed and judged on knowledge of what their recipe contributes to a healthy diet, knowledge of the MyPyramid food guidance system and presentation skills. Contestants are asked to prepare a healthy dish in the categories of main dish, fruit and vegetable, snacks, and bread and cereal. Throughout the food and nutrition project, 4-H members learn the importance of eating healthy and making healthy food choices, portion sizes, food safety and other nutrition-related skills.

Also, 4-Her’s had the opportunity to compete in the Food Challenge Contest which is based on the Iron Chef. There is a team of 3-5 members, they work together to make a dish in 40 minutes. The teams are given the ingredients, without the directions to fix the dish. The teams are also interviewed and judged on knowledge of what their recipe contributes to a healthy diet, knowledge of the MyPyramid food guidance system, presentation skills, cost and food safety.

Results from the County Food Show are as follows:

Pre-4-H members recognized:

Megan Meyer of Boots and Saddles 4-H, Pearl Martisek of Boots and Saddles 4-H, Kacey Russell of Boots and Saddles 4-H.

Junior – Fruit & Vegetable Category:

1st place – Whitlee Whitlow of S.M.A.C.S. 4-H.

Junior – Nutritious Snack Category:

1st place – Makayla Meyer of Boots and Saddles 4-H.

Junior – Bread & Cereal Category:

1st place – Evelyn Martisek of Boots and Saddles 4-H, 2nd place – Madelyn Rodriguez of S.M.A.C.S 4-H.

Intermediate – Fruit & Vegetable Category:

1st place – Adrian Segovia of S.M.A.C.S. 4-H, 2nd place – Colton Russell of Boots and Saddles 4-H, 3rd place – Thomas Meyer of Boots and Saddles 4-H.

Intermediate – Bread & Cereal Category:

1st place – Melody Meyer of Boots and Saddles 4-H, 2nd place – Marissa Rodriguez of S.M.A.C.S 4-H.

Senior – Snack Category:

1st place – Colten Edwards of S.M.A.C.S 4-H.

Senior – Bread & Cereal Category:

1st place – Victoria Ford of Boots & Saddles 4-H Club.

Food Challenge Teams Junior & Intermediate:

1st place – Bee Kountry Kids 4-H, Kayla Ruthkowski, Wyatt Daughtry, A.J. Alaniz

2nd place – Stampede 4-H, Alton Hensch, Samantha Allen, Mikayla Barnett.

The top three in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior categories will advance to the District contest to be held on Dec. 5 in Victoria.

Judges for the evening were Jan Danimer, Ronda Dunn, Mille Hammond, Michelle Wright, Carrie Brannon and Marie Meadows. Jan Danimer, Department of State Health Services, said, “They are all so knowledgeable in food and nutrition; they did a great job sharing it.”

For more information on the 4-H program in Bee County, call 362-3280, or come by the Extension office in Dougherty Building at 210 E. Corpus Christi St. 4-H is a community of young people across America who are learning leadership, citizenship and life skills.