Lansing Students Compete in First Ever LV Arts Test Kitchen Competition at Lansing High School
Lansing students in grades 2 through 12 had a blast competing in a cooking competition on Saturday, January 29th, at Lansing High School. The "Test Kitchen" competition was hosted by LV Arts, a newly formed non-profit created and led by Lansing High School ELA teacher Michaela Fitzgerald. Students worked in pairs and were broken out into two age groups, 2nd - 6th graders and 7th - 12th grades. All students were given ingredients to work from for their two challenges.
The younger students competed early in the afternoon and were tasked with first creating a dessert pizza and next creating a "Not Your Everyday" sandwich. The guest judges for the younger students were Senator Jeff Pittman, Chef Jason Wiggin (owner of The Suburban restaurant in Leavenworth), Summer Buis, and Joe Buis (Director of the LV Youth Achievement Center). Students were judged on several factors including presentation and flavor. There were fourteen participants in the younger age group with 6th grader Caden Houtman and 5th grader Kayliana Kannaday taking the win.
The twelve participants in the older age group had two challenges that were a bit more difficult. They were first given 25 minutes to prepare a breakfast item and a smoothie and then 35 minutes to create an appetizer, entree, or dessert with a random theme chosen by spinning a virtual wheel. Themes ranged from "school lunch" to "fit for royalty." Judges for the older students were Jason Wiggin (owner of The Suburban restaurant in Leavenworth), Lansing USD 469 school board member Carla Wiegers, and her husband, Steve Wiegers. Congratulations to 8th grader Abigail Rothmeyer and 10th grader Kendall Toedter for winning the second round!
"Part of our mission at LV Arts is to nurture a love for the arts in our community, and we were thrilled to be able to offer this experience in the culinary arts," said Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and LHS Teacher Michaela Fitzgerald. "Chef Wiggin worked side-by-side with participants and not only encouraged them along the way but also gave them valuable feedback throughout the competition. We had so much fun putting on this event for students, and their culinary creations were true works of art on a plate."
The competition was such a success that Mrs. Fitzgerald plans to offer another round in the spring.
Mrs. Fitzgerald is a 2007 Lansing graduate and attended USD 469 from kindergarten through 12th grade. LV Arts will be holding their next event, "Galentine's Day," on February 10th at the Leavenworth Local Hotel from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. For more information and tickets, visit www.lvarts.info.