A series to share #smiles across our community through the achievements of our local youth, brought to you by Olsen Orthodontics.
(Laramie, WY) – Wind River 4-H members from St. Stephens earned 2nd and 3rd place at the State 4-H Showcase Showdown Food Cook-Off competition last week in Laramie.
It’s the first time students from the reservation have competed in the state competitions, shared Johnathan Despain, UW Extension Educator for the Wind River Reservation.
One team included Wyatt SunRhodes, Alfred Shakespeare, and Reico Shakespeare. The other was made up of Blue Moccasin Soldier Wolf and Yesenia Carrillo.
These five students only had two months to prepare for the competition, Despain noted.
The event had a Disney theme. The boys’ team was called Heihei, after the rooster in Moana, and the girls’ team was called Stitch from the movie Lilo & Stitch.
Both teams utilized Indigenous foods in their chosen recipes. Substituting bison for beef and using wild rice, among other things.
During the competition, both teams were given a mystery ingredient to incorporate into their recipes. After they cooked it all up and presented it to the judges, they had to answer nutrition questions about their plate, serving size, cost per serving, why they chose that meal, and all sorts of random questions about their knowledge of cooking, presenting the food, and everything else.
This was a collaboration between St. Stephens and the UW Wind River Reservation Extension Office to get these five students to participate in the competition.
Way to go! 🎉