WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Sixteen Lexington Two students are moving on to the finals next month of the 11th Annual Future Chefs Challenge.
Nearly 100 recipes, themed to fruit and vegetable side dishes, were submitted. A panel of judges with Sodexo selected the 16 finalist recipes. These winning third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders will now go on to represent their Lexington Two elementary schools in the cook-off finals, set for March 9 in the culinary kitchen at the Lexington Two Innovation Center, 509 Bulldog Blvd., Cayce.
The finalists and their schools are:
Cayce Elementary: Piper Robuck
Congaree Elementary: Jasmine Carino, Hampton Lowman
Riverbank Elementary: Avery Bartys, Caitlyn Moore, Gracie Summers, Samantha Carroll, Carlos Gutierrez Avila, Addisyn Hydrick, Heidi Vande Brake
Saluda River Academy for the Arts: Joury Elalfy, Maggie Campbell
Springdale Elementary: Jayna Murphy, Leah Hoag, Phoebe Rabon, Ryleigh Kate Laird
Wood Elementary: Landin Broxton
The winner of the culinary showdown, presented by Sodexo, will go on to represent Lexington Two at the statewide, district-level competition.
Last year’s winner, then-fifth-grader Chandler Dorn, went on to win the 2022 national championship.
Note: Not all finalists are pictured.