Herndon High School senior Syeda Fazeen Rizvi remembers the moment when she realized her team won the Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge lunch competition: “The chef [judge] started speaking, saying this recipe transcended, blurring the lines between restaurant food and home food.”

Rizvi and three of her classmates, Winnie O’Hanlon, Clarissa Dantes, and Sidney Ide, made up the team that won this year’s competition, which gives middle and high school students the chance to create delicious, healthy meals they would like to eat in their school lunchrooms. The competition is split into three meal categories: breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The students competed in the lunch category, which is considered the most challenging because it’s the only one where students face a panel of judges.

Despite the pressure, the students crafted a winning meal: “Creamy Dreamy” Gnocchi Stew with sweet potato gnocchi, cannellini beans, and fresh spinach. On the side: whole wheat garlic Soup Dippers and a Zesty Sunshine Salad with romaine lettuce, clementines, cranberries, and feta cheese.

The garlic bread in particular impressed the judges. “We tossed them in melted butter and garlic,” Sidney reflected. “The bread turned out really fluffy, and the shape is cute, it was like a little twist!” The seasoning, the students argue, also helped put them over the edge. “Everyone is always talking about the smell, they’re following the smell,” said Winnie. 

Family & Consumer Science Teachers Lauren Spector and Heather Palm supported the students through the competition. When the team won, “it was just delight, pure joy, and pride,” said Palm, who noted this is Herndon’s first time winning after competing for the last five years. “We warned this team, ‘We have this opportunity for you, it's gonna be a lot of work, and you will do most of the work. We’re here to support you, but you’re gonna have to carry the mental load and the physical load,’ and they rose to the challenge.”

That challenge was multifaceted. The students had to prepare a meal as if it were for a school lunchroom. It had to be nutritionally balanced, cost less than $2.70 per serving, and, most importantly, be delicious. The students learned culinary and operational skills through the many aspects of the challenge. “They had to learn how to price things, they had to communicate with outside vendors, and they needed to see all the components that go into getting a meal out,” explained Spector.

As part of their prize, FCPS Food and Nutrition Services will adapt and serve the recipe in school lunchrooms across Fairfax County. The students feel empowered to be the ones shaking up the menu. “Something like that probably doesn’t happen that often,” Sidney thought. Clarissa agreed. “Personally,” she explained, “I’ve been eating the school lunch since I was in elementary school. To have variety, a different option, would be really nice.” Syeda feels nervous, though, that her classmates will be the next judges. “They better like it, man!” she exclaimed with a chuckle.

The four students, all seniors, will go their separate ways when they graduate in a few months. They plan to pursue different career paths but say the lessons they’ve learned in the kitchen will stay with them. In particular, by working together towards a common goal, they became better communicators, collaborators, and goal-directed individuals — all pillars of FCPS’s Portrait of a Graduate. They also learned that making and eating healthy food can be rewarding.

“It’s good to have background knowledge on nutrition, that’s important,” said Syeda.

“I think you learn a lot of good life skills,” explained Sidney, adding with a laugh: “Just making food is fun, because you get to eat it!”

Watch the team on Fox 5’s LION Lunch Hour.