Riverview 9th-graders display a potpourri of culinary expertise at Dutch oven cook-off

MURRAY — Can you bake a cheesecake in a Dutch oven? How about pot-stickers or kalua pork? The ninth-grade students at Riverview Junior High School whipped up all this and more for the school's 16th annual Dutch oven cook-off last Friday.

The lawn in front of the school was packed with decorated booths and tents, dozens of Dutch ovens piled high with smoldering coals and, of course, the 14- and 15-year-old chefs. Some students arrived as early as 5:30 a.m. to get started.

This year, 75 pairs entered the competition. Some of them had a hard time figuring things out at first — one student mistook his partner's peach cobbler for scrambled eggs and cheese — but the results were delicious.

The grand prize winners, Heidi Vincent and Erik White, wowed the judges with a Hawaiian feast of kalua pork, coconut rolls, lettuce wraps and apple cake with homemade caramel sauce. They also scored points for their meal's creativity.

"We just wanted to do something different, something besides the Coke chicken and cheesy potatoes," White said.

Sarah Ewell and Lacey Baugh won third place for their chicken cordon bleu, cornbread with raspberry butter and chocolate mayonnaise cake with raspberry sauce.

"Sarah's the oldest, so she cooks a lot, but I'm the youngest, and I don't really know a lot, so she's teaching me," Baugh said.

Some of the students went the extra mile by dressing up their booths — and themselves — to fit their food's theme.

Amanda Airmet and Jaycee Housley called themselves the Dutch Oven Divas, and they certainly looked the part with oversize white sunglasses and pink feather boas. Their booth, complete with larger-than-life cutouts of Academy Award statues, helped them win this year's prize for best costumes.

Parents play a huge part in the cook-off. One father, Rod Andrews, said he'd helped his two daughters in the contest and now he was here for his son, Miles. Riverview's teachers and staff also pitched in to make sure the cook-off was a good experience for everyone.

"This is one of those things the kids — and all of us — really look forward to every year," said Janet Froh, the cook-off's coordinator.

Although the cook-off is a lot of work, Froh said it's her favorite day of the year.