A student at North Olmsted City Schools needs your help. Roselyn Sanchez, 11, is a finalist in a national cooking competition.
"Our principal announced it at lunchtime," said Roselyn. "Everyone was screaming and clapping for me!"
She is one of just five finalists nationwide in Sodexo’s Future Chefs Competition.
The school district said each student presents their recipe to a panel of judges who evaluate entries based on taste, nutrition, kid-friendliness, originality, ease of preparation, and presentation.
Roselyn's dish, the Mediterranean Burrito Blast, received top honors and advanced her to the regional level, where a panel of Sodexo chefs reviewed submissions and selected the five finalists.
She told me the dish is inspired by a meal her mom makes for them, but she's put her own spin on it.
"It has baked zucchini, peppers, and onions," she said. "And seasoned with thyme, basil, salt, cracked pepper, and cream cheese."
It's all wrapped up into a delicious dish!
Roselyn said she's been baking and cooking with her mom since she was little.
"I never thought I’d love it this much," she said.
It is a love of creating together in the kitchen that's been passed down from one generation to the next, as Roselyn said her mom and grandma did the same.
She says her family’s support was the secret ingredient to her making it this far in the competition.
"During this competition I was really scared and ready to give up," she said. "I was really stressed but my family encouraged me to keep going and I didn’t think I was going to make it this far, but thanks to them I did. Don’t give up on your dreams!"
She said many of her friends love to bake and cook, too, and she encourages other kids and families to do the same and try out her recipe together. She has a tutorial to show how it's done.
Roselyn has already won some cool, new kitchen tools, including an ice cream maker, a Ninja, and other equipment.
If she wins the national competition, she'll have the chance to have her recipe added to Sodexo's national menu in cafeterias across the country.
Plus, the winner also receives a visit from one of Sodexo's national chefs, and they'll cook the dish together, and there will be a big celebration.
Voting is open now and runs through May 3.
