FIRST ANNUAL
NEW YORK STATE FAIR
JUNIOR IRON CHEF CHALLENGE
Represent your County in a brand-new challenge to show your culinary talents!
Teams of 3-5 youth in two age ranges—Middle and High School will start with the
theme of re-imagining Fair food highlighting corn and will have an hour to create a
dish that could be replicated in a school cafeteria.
This educational event hopes to:
Encourage youth to learn new skills in cooking to lead a healthier lifestyle.
 Promote the use of local food to support our local farmers and environment.
 Create new healthy vegetarian or vegan based recipes that use local
ingredients and can be easily implemented into school cafeteria menus.
 Provide first-hand experience and knowledge in sustainable food systems
and cooking.
 Promote teamwork
 Give youth an additional opportunity for public speaking
 Provide leadership opportunities
 Provide opportunities for youth to exhibit their knowledge and skill when
preparing and presenting a dish
The Challenge:
Create a recipe highlighting corn in a Fair-themed manner. What do we mean by
“fair-themed”? It should be something that is quick to make and take with you as
you walk. It should be cost effective and appealing to the masses, BUT with a
healthy twist as we all know that fried foods are a Fair staple. There may be a
surprise or two in store, so be adaptable with your recipe ideas!
And, no meat, nuts or dessert, please!
Team Information:
 Teams consist of 3-5 members.
 Middle School teams are any combination of 6th-8th graders.
 High School teams are any combination of 9th-12th graders.
 Team members can be made of youth from different Clubs as long as all
members are in the same age group.
 Teams are required to have an adult team supervisor.
 Teams will be required to have a risk waiver form signed by a parent in order
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to compete.
Registration is limited to 4 teams each heat for two heats and to your County
rotation.
Adult Team Supervisor Information:
 Adult supervisor must be at least 25 years old.
 Adult supervisor can be any parent, teacher, or other member of
community—but they must have completed 4-H Volunteer background
check and enrollment.
 Adult supervisor must be present at competition, but will not be allowed in
cooking area during the competition. The team should be well prepared and
should not need their supervisor in the cooking area. Supervisors must stand
in the spectator area and are NOT allowed to shout directions to their teams.
Failure to follow this rule may result in your team being disqualified.
Recipe Info:
 Teams will have to submit their recipes using the recipe submission forms on
the website and in the team info packet.
 Your recipe will be limited to 5 main ingredients. These 5 DO NOT include
spices, oils, water, or vinegar and other basic ingredients. There is a separate
list of ingredients provided in the ‘pantry’ included with your team packet.
 Your 5 ingredients indicated in your recipe will be provided by New York
State 4-H.
 Teams are encouraged to include local ingredients in their recipes. There is a
statement attached to your recipe form. Recipes are be prepared year-round
so seasonal/local may not always be seasonal/local. Please have students fill
out the statement indicating when their ingredients might be seasonal and
local. During the presentation of your dish to the judges, one member of
your team will be required to give a verbal presentation about the dish,
including what ingredients are/can be local and when they are in season.
 Teams will have to include at least two USDA ingredients that are used in
school cafeterias. The list of UDSA ingredients will be posted on the website
and teams will be guided towards appropriate foods during their orientation.
 Recipes can not be desserts or include meat, fish or nuts
 Remember you are preparing one recipe and will need to provide 5 tasting
portions. The recipe is a single dish, no main and side combinations
(dips/dressings not included in this rule).
 NO foods can be prepared before the event. All veggies provided will be
prewashed, but nothing can be prepped (chopped, peeled, etc.) before your
competition time.
 You will have access to boiling water and to pre-made grains/rice.
 Cooking equipment will be supplied; it will consist of a Cuisinart 5-in-1
Griddler, single gas burner, and serving dishes.


Cooking utensils and containers such as pots, spoons, measuring cups etc.
are to be brought by the team.
Recipes will be reviewed and tasted by our qualified judges and winners will
be chosen using the following criteria:
Taste - How yummy is it?
Presentation - Does it look appetizing?
Creativity - Is the recipe original?
Use of Local Ingredients - Do local foods star in this dish?
Use of USDA Ingredients - Do USDA foods play a large role in dish?
Healthy Choices - What is the calorie count of the recipe and are the
ingredients healthy?
Cafeteria Ready - Is the recipe easily implemented into school cafeterias
considering price of ingredients, difficulty of preparation and availability of
ingredients. And, does it fit the Fair-themed criteria?