Top Teen Chef: The Tasty Conclusion
On Friday the 13th of January, three teens participated in the Lakewood Public Library’s first Top Teen Chef program. The teens were invited to take part in three food challenges, or battles. They had 45 minutes to complete the challenges. They were given a large selection of potential ingredients and asked to compete in a “Battle Kool-Aid,” “Battle Celery,” and “Battle Brownie.” Using the main ingredients listed in each battle, they were required to create a beverage, appetizer, and dessert.
Three judges sampled and critiqued each of the participants’ entries. Rob Geul, local chef at Lakewood's Jammy Buggars, was the guest judge, in addition to two Children’s Library staff members. The judges considered creativity, presentation, and tastiness in assigning points and reviewing each of the culinary creations. The competition was a close one, but ultimately the Top Teen Chef named was Calvin Dolatowski, a 6th grader at Harding Middle School. Runners-up were: Ana Webb, a 7th grader at Shaker Heights Middle School, and Lily Alvino, a 7th grader at Garfield Middle School.
Jammy Buggars provided a $50 gift card to the Top Teen Chef, and each of the runners-up received a token for a free meal. The Library was also fortunate to have a $30 gift card donated by Giant Eagle to assist in the purchase of the ingredients for the program, and Mary Lou Call of First Federal Savings and Loan of Lakewood donated four trays of brownies for the dessert competition. All of the participants, judges, and attending family members had a great time at this culinary battle!
Stephanie Schuerger-Fries is a Children's Library Assistant at the Lakewood Public Library and mom of Lakewood School students.
Stephanie Schuerger-Fries
Children's Library Assistant at the Lakewood Public Library and mom of Lakewood School students.