planet friendly cooking contest

IN HONOR OF EARTH DAY

Planet-Friendly Cooking Contest

We will hold a planet friendly cooking contest for children between TK - 8th grade.
There will be judges and prizes! 
Your dish will be presented to a panel of local chefs, Chef Neelam, and community taste tester judges who will vote on your entry!

Note: You do NOT have to enter the competition in order to participate. You can also sign up to be a community taste tester and judge!

Saturday May 18, 2024
4 - 6PM | Ages 5 - 12

Location: Willow Glen United Methodist Church, San Jose, CA


The competition will be divided into the following age ranges: 

  1. TK - 2nd grade 

  2. 3rd grade - 5th grade 

  3. 6th grade - 8th grade 

Here are the criteria the entries will be judged on:

  • The carbon footprint of the dish

  • How good it tastes

  • Presentation / Creativity

  • Nutrition (How healthy is your dish? Does it include protein and vegetables?)

Rules of the contest:

  1. Cook your dish at home and bring it to the venue. No cooking at the venue is allowed.

  2. Unfortunately due to venue limitations, you can not warm your dish up at the venue. We will eat the food at room temperature and everyone’s entries will be judged regardless of temperature.

  3. Your entry needs to be something you can eat as a complete meal. So it should include a protein (ie. eggs, lentils, beans) plus a vegetable or a fruit dish.  

  4. You can enter up to 1 main dish and 1 side, but no more than that. (For example, if you make chili and green beans, the chili counts as a main and the green beans count as a side.)

  5. No desserts allowed

  6. No drinks allowed

  7. You may enter with another child, but you each would need to register.

What to bring and how to serve your dish:

  1. Make a sign that states the name of your dish, the ingredients and the greenhouse gas score.

  2. We will have multiple judges, but do not make enough food for multiple people. Cook enough food for 2 people and bring it in a container. 

  3. Bring a serving utensil. You will be responsible for serving your entry to the judges. 

  4. Bliss Belly Kitchen will provide plates and forks for the judges to taste all of the entries

  5. If you are bringing something that needs to be cut, please cut it ahead of time into multiple pieces since we will NOT have knives available. 

Fun idea: Try making a version of your favorite dish using plant-based ingredients!

View the contest Entry Form here.