Eight elementary school students with top chef dreams competed Monday in a regional cook-off for a national competition called the Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge.

In an industrial kitchen used for Phoenix High School’s culinary arts classes, the little competitors from the Phoenix-Talent School District pushed carts loaded with ingredients from the pantry to stainless-steel tables. In tall white chef’s hats, they worked with adult sous chefs — Sodexo staff from their respective school cafeterias — at their elbows. On each table was a recipe for reference.

Students from Phoenix Elementary, Talent Elementary and Orchard Hill Elementary submitted recipes for the contest.

“We had 30 or so kids submit recipes,” said Amy Honts, general manager for Sodexo at the school district.

From those submitted recipes, the final contestants were chosen according to how original or healthful the recipes were, she said.

She pointed to a clipboard listing categories the judges would use to choose the winner. Contestants were scored from one to seven on originality, easy preparation, healthful attributes, kid friendliness, taste, plate presentation and presentation to judges.

Eva Trinidad, a fifth-grader at Phoenix Elementary School, smiled shyly as she worked green apples into an old-fashioned spiralizer. She was the only contestant not wearing one of the school’s black aprons. Her pink apron was clearly the work of an experienced seamstress.

“It’s fun to help in the kitchen. I like to cook with my godmother and my mom. When she heard about this and told me to enter the contest, I asked her if I could wear her apron that sometimes I wear when I cook with her,” she said.

She smiled when she said she was making spiral apple pancakes “just because” her godmother can bake all kinds of things.

Jeff Ashmun was delighted to serve as judge after 20 years as area general manager for Sodexo in elementary schools and a decade of helping with the Future Chefs competition. The pandemic coincided with his retirement and what could have been his last competition.

“We were all set up to have one that Saturday when the whole world shut down. We had it all set up, and it was my choice to cancel it. I saw the ship (the district) through COVID — it was constant work just to keep up with changing federal regulations in the schools,” he said.

Honts invited Ashmun to be a judge for the first competition post-pandemic. His eyes twinkled at the sight of the little chefs in their hats and aprons, their brows furrowed in concentration. He believed the competition was all the more valuable for how young the contestants were.

“If we can get them to learn how to cook at this age. … The thing is once you start to cook, you really have the ability to develop a passion for it,” he said. “My mother was a foodie and a gourmet cook. So I watched her — I wanted to be able to keep having that after I moved out of that house.”

For John Barber, culinary teacher at Phoenix High School, the day was about instilling a passion while keeping the little ones safe

“The hope is, they’ll be able to see themselves here,” he said, gesturing to the impressive industrial kitchen where he teaches.

Cooking could become a profession for some of these kids, he said. For others, it could become a life skill. Barber was entrusted with watching over the competition to ensure a fun, safe day.

“The number one goal today is safety,” he said, his eyes scanning the tables. He briefed them on how to clean and sanitize their hands and tools and to wear mesh safety gloves before cutting. He and his staff kept a watchful eye, circling the kitchen.

Rosie Harvey, a fifth-grade student at Talent Elementary School, sliced through bright yellow summer squash with confidence. Summer Garden Pasta is a frequent dish at home, she said.

All eight little chefs chopped, blended and boiled into the afternoon while parents, Sodexo staff and teachers waited to taste the results. At 5 p.m., contestants plated up and served for the judges. Parents and other attendees were invited to taste the afternoon’s work.

For the People’s Choice award — the favorite of parents and other attendees — Rosie won with her pasta. Nataly Flores, a fourth-grader from Phoenix Elementary, won first place with her Butterfly Cycle Fruit Salad. Eva took second place for her apple ring pancakes. Third place went to Zayne Shinkle, a third-grade Orchard Hill Elementary student for his fruit pizza.

Nataly said she chose her dish to make healthy food fun.

“Because I thought about kids that had trouble eating their vegetables and fruits, so why not make it exciting for them?” she was quoted as saying in a release from the school district.

“I was nervous, but I was happy at the same time. I was excited and I just couldn’t wait to get out here and present my dish,” she said of the contest’s final moments.

The Sodexo competition has regional, district and national level competitions, but the Talent-Phoenix School District chose to keep its competition internal the first year back from the pandemic, Honts said.

First place earned Nataly a Farberware 15-piece cookware set. Second place brought a nesting mixing bowl set, and third place received a Baking Basics Kit with a pot holder, silicone spatula, whisk and a Future Chef Apron. The People’s Choice award came with a gift basket of fruits and vegetables. All the little chefs went home with a cookbook and a certificate.