Favorite Food Show

The Southwind District held the 4-H Favorite Food Show recently on June 5th at the Moran United Methodist Church. This event is a great way to learn the life-skills of menu planning and setting a table. To exhibit in the Favorite Food Show, youth must complete a few steps.

The very first step is the 4-H’er selects a favorite food recipe. This can be an appetizer, entree, dessert, or drink. It is important for them to practice this recipe a few times prior to the event so they are confident with the process. Along with knowing how to prepare their favorite recipe, they need to understand the nutrition that it contains and determine if it is something that is healthy.

Now, the 4-H’er makes decisions that are a little more difficult. They will consider a theme and a menu incorporating their favorite food. When they select the theme, they will work on gathering a proper table setting (including tablecloth, dishes, silverware, napkins, etc.), centerpiece, and a card table. The hardest part can be creating the menu. It is key to focus on making healthy additions to their favorite food. They will create an attractive menu to have on display at the show.

The 4-H’ers will practice putting their display together and working on questions about their display the judge may want to know more information about.

On the day of the show, 4-H’ers will be allotted a specific amount of time to set-up and prepare their table display for the judge. After the conference with the judge is complete, the 4-H’ers walk from table to table learning from each 4-H’er with a brief presentation. By this time, the judge has made the final selections for the top two winners in the Senior Division (ages 14-18) and Junior Division (ages 9-13) per county. There is also a Cloverbud Division (ages 5-8) receiving participation awards.

This year, there were five total participants ready to earn their spot at the Southeast Area Favorite Food Show on June 22nd in Emporia. The results for the Junior Division were Carly Taylor (Southwind-Yates Center) Top Junior, Kason Botts (Southwind-Iola) Top Junior, Carly Kramer (Southwind-Iola) Top Junior, and Henry Kramer (Southwind-Iola) Honorable Mention. For the Senior Division, Jenni Armstrong (Southwind-Iola) Top Senior.