They came with recipes such as “Healthy Special,” “Fruit Bricks” and “Funky Monkey.”

They brought their imaginations and their appetites.

They all went home with medals.

It wasn’t exactly the Pillsbury Bake-Off, but it was no less important to the pint-sized cooks and the lessons they learned.

More than a dozen Clover Park fourth-graders stirred and tossed and blended their way through the first Kids Can Cook competition in the Lakewood-area school district last week.

Eddie Sandu carefully cut circles out of turkey to put on cracker snacks.

Chloee Britt churned up her Funky Monkey smoothie.

Anthony Lanuza fashioned his Fruit Bricks.

And other students stirred and whirred their recipes.

The idea, said Kevin Scott, was to help fourth-graders “realize that they can cook and also demonstrate that there are a lot of healthy snacks out there.” Scott is the school district’s student nutrition director.

Eighteen students were selected for the competition, conducted at Clover Park’s district kitchen in Lakewood.

Food service workers gave them cooking pointers and safety training.

And Dave Williams, executive regional chef for food service company Sodexho, was there to oversee the whole production.

Williams judged the creations, along with Clover Park School Board President Carole Jacobs, deputy superintendent Debbie LeBeau and finance director Lynn Wilson.

Chloee Britt’s Funky Monkey smoothie drink tickled the tasters. She won the Judge’s Choice award and carried home a gold medal, a cookbook and a basket of cooking tools.

She came up with the recipe in much the same way other honored cooks do: She took something familiar, put her own twist on it, and, voila! a winner was born.

In Chloee’s case, the catalyst was the area restaurant that didn’t want to part with the secret ingredient to the smoothie that made her taste buds sing. So she improvised. But she’s not stingy with her singular sensation.

“It’s chocolate soy milk,” she said.

Chloee enjoyed the competition, and she enjoys healthy foods. But she confessed that her favorite foods are spaghetti, steak, pork and “that pasta stuff” her mom makes.

The other winning cooks and their categories were:

 • Health Conscious Foods: Eddie Sandu, Southgate Elementary, “Ranch Salad with Biscuit Sandwich.”

 • Kid Friendly Preparation: Paul Littlejohn, Idlewild Elementary, “Healthy Special.”

 • Fun Foods: Anthony Lanuza, Carter Lake Elementary, “Fruit Bricks.”

 • Best Table Presentation: Lauren Kondrat, Idlewild Elementary, “Spunky Vegetable Pizza.”

Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659

TIPS FOR COOKING WITH KIDS

 • Use fresh ingredients.

 • Emphasize fruits and vegetables.

 • Make preparation simple and kid-friendly.

 • Make something kids can recognize.

 • Be creative, have fun.
Source: Kevin Scott, student nutrition director, Clover Park School District

Funky Monkey

From the kitchen of Chloee Britt

Fourth grade, Greenwood Elementary School

Ingredients

1 banana

1 1/2 cups ice

1 1/2 cups chocolate soy milk

1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla

3 tablespoons vanilla yogurt

chai mix

chocolate syrup

whipped cream

Method

Put banana, ice, soy milk, vanilla, yogurt and chai mix into a blender and blend for three minutes until smooth.

Squirt chocolate syrup into glasses, pour in Funky Monkey mixture and top with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup.