ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. — Harper Ouellette, a seventh-grader at Newark Street School, stretches out one arm to hold a growing ribbon of sunrise-orange dough as he cranks the pasta machine with his other arm. Next to him are mounds of brilliant green and deep purple dough, waiting to be transformed. At the cramped six-foot-long table, the four other members of the Newark Rainbow Warriors also have their hands full, racing against the clock to make their signature dish, Rainbow Ravioli, for the 9^th annual Jr. Iron Chef Vermont Competition held March 19.

The crowd can sense the prickle of time pressure and excitement. In the very center of the exhibition hall, hung with hand-painted banners of giant vegetables, pop music blaring, parents crowding in with video cameras, and Judge Captain Jim Birmingham yelling, “Ready, Set, Chop!,” 30 middle- and high-school teams stand shoulder-to-shoulder for the first heat. This year, 56 teams from around Vermont will compete. Young hands are frantically dicing carrots or meticulously scalloping potatoes, whipping eggs, folding dumplings or roasting peppers over an open flame. Each two- to five-person team must make their dish in 90 minutes or less, all from scratch and featuring local produce.

The Jr. Iron Chef VT competition began in 2008, the brainchild of two organizations in the forefront of the Farm to School movement: the Burlington School Food Project and Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT-FEED), a program of Shelburne Farms and NOFA-VT. The culinary event challenges middle and high school students to create healthy meals featuring local foods. In the process, students build relationships with farmers, learn to cook whole foods, experience team building, learn an appreciation for healthy eating and inspire new kid-approved school lunches. Over 3,000 students have participated in Jr. Iron Chef VT, and the program’s success has made it an important model for other states around the country.

Her greatest hope for the program, said Event Coordinator Amy Gifford, “is to help kids develop a healthy relationship with food that lasts a lifetime.” She said that the event is not about training culinary professionals, although some students are inspired to pursue that field as a result of their experience. Rather, she said, a healthy relationship with food helps combat so many other important public health issues, such as childhood obesity and diabetes.

Vermont has always been on the cutting edge of farm to school programs, said Gifford. Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, who presented the awards at this year’s event, is a big part of the state’s legacy. Leahy co-sponsored the bipartisan 2015 Farm to School Act, which increased federal funds available for local foods among schools nationwide. “All the work I’ve done in child nutrition and on farm to school programs has come from here at home,” Leahy said to the crowd gathered for his opening remarks.

This year could mark another important benchmark for farm to school programs nationwide. Up for reauthorization in 2016, the Child Nutrition Act could double funding, from $5 million to $10 million, for farm to school programs. “Child nutrition programs are effective investments in the health and development of children across the country. As programs that serve tens of millions of meals per day, they also present an opportunity for small and mid-size sustainable farmers to sell their agricultural food products and expand their markets,” writes the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, an advocate for the bill.

By the time these student teams come to Jr. Iron Chef VT, they have practiced together for several months. Team names like Rebel Cool Kids, Dicing Divas, Trotter Totters, and – get ready – the Ninja Pumpkin Hippo Thigh High Flyers, reveal the high spirits of their members. But look around, and the sophisticated food tastes and complicated recipes belie the young age of these chefs: Sweet Potato and Apple Perogies with Maple Balsamic Reduction and Dijon Beurre Blanc, Japanese Tempura Vegetables with Udon Noodles and Umami Sauce, Melanzana Deliciosa.

“Part of our success is letting kids choose their own teammates, and keeping the whole thing as kid-driven as possible, said Lonnie Paige, Food Service Chef at Twin Valley School. His teams have won 13 awards in eight years. Being in the kitchen has earned such a “cool factor” at Twin Valley that now as many as 50 percent of 235 students participate, and the school holds its own cook-offs to bring their most qualified teams to Jr. Iron Chef VT. (Each school is allowed a maximum of two high school and two middle school teams.)

Coach Tom Heller, whose Milton School team is named Feel the Bern, agreed that his kids had earned their independence. “They come up with all the ideas. Just now they told me to stand back because I’m too distracting,” he said with a laugh. He watches his team carefully braid the dough for Bleu Bernie Stromboli, stuffed with local shitake mushrooms and cheese.

Nearby, the Rainbow Warriors are elbow-to-elbow, pureeing sauces and lifting steaming heaps of jewel-colored ravioli from their cooking pot. They made five different kinds of pasta – spinach, tomato, yellow pepper, squash and beet. “At first we thought we would have to use food coloring, but then we found out we could make all these colors from vegetables,” said Harper.

All around the gym cheers go up as team after team holds up the little red flag signaling they are finished. Volunteers run through with trays whisking the masterpieces through the closed doors marked Judges Only. “When you hear someone cheering and you’re not done, it’s stressful,” said Rainbow Warrior Sophie Channon.

Teams are judged in three categories. The Mise en Place award goes to the team with the best teamwork, communication and professionalism. Lively Local goes to the team that makes the best use of locally sourced ingredients. Crowd Pleaser goes to the dish that hits it out of the park on flavor and originality.

Seated at three long tables in the judging room are 11 judges. Together they represent the wide spectrum of interests and professions that this event brings together: farmers, chefs, food writers, school lunch managers, state representatives and child nutritionists. And, of course, students. This year that’s Peggy Fisher, who at 10 years old is the competition’s youngest-ever judge. Peggy became a cooking celebrity when she made it to the final four of the Food Network’s kids baking challenge in 2015. It turns out she’s got well informed opinions about food other than cupcakes: “This could really use something crunchy to balance out the creaminess,” she said, as she tasted a spaghetti squash dish. “Maybe some toasted nuts.”

One by one, the dishes get passed down the table for tasting. “This one is absolutely classic,” said chef Donnell Collins of Leunig’s Bistro about the neat round stack of Eggplant Parmesan dashed with brilliant green pesto and garnished with a purple topknot of delicately fried filaments of purple eggplant skin. Not only delicious but nicely replicable for school lunch programs, this dish from Champlain Valley High School ran away with the Crowd Pleaser Award in the morning high school heat. (See sidebar for all awards.)

The Rainbow Warriors didn’t walk home with an award this year, but they were proud of what they made. In the end, being with friends doing something they love was more important to them than winning. Thirteen-year-old Sophie Channon said they even made friends with a competitor. “We traded some food with the group next to us. Theirs was really amazing,” she said wistfully, already thinking about what to make next year.

Mise en Place Award Winners:

Winter Vegetable Cornishish Pasty, by Sizzling Saints, St. Monica’s/St. Michael’s Middle School

Gnocchi with Root Vegetables, by the Boys and Girls Club of Burlington High School

Red, White, and Bleu Ravioli, by After Bern, Milton High School

Red Lentil Soup with Butternut Squash and Cheese Tortellini, by The Skillet Takes, Green Mountain Union High School

Lively Local Award

Radical Root Crepes, by The Wolf Pack, Albany Community School

Triple Grain and Butternut Squash Shepherd’s Pie, by Green Mountain Cheftains, Green Mountain Union High School

Vegan Pizza, by Food Fighters, Centerpoint High School

Tempeh Taco Polenta Pancake with Cilantro Lime Slaw, by Milton Chef Jackets, Milton Middle School

Crowd Pleaser Award

Sweet/Sour Soup with Udon Noodles, Cremini Dumplings, Quick Pickles, by The Jakesfromstatefarm, Twin Valley Middle School

Salade Lyonnaise, Chef’d, South Burlington High School

Pesto Eggplant Parmesan, by CVU Chefhawks 1, Champlain Union High School

[recipe?] by Action Ready, Essex Middle School

Freelance writer and farmer Helen Whybrow is the author of A Man Apart and other titles. She lives at Knoll Farm in Fayston, Vermont.