Street food from ‘all over the world’ reaches New Hampshire in middle school cook-off competition

The name of the game was quick, quality, comforting food that can “reach anywhere from all over the world.”

To Kara Martinez, a family and consumer sciences teacher at Merrimack Valley Middle School, the meaning behind the theme of this year’s Great Middle School Cook-Off was all about street food.

Martinez’s team of six students, four competitors and two alternates faced off against teams from the Conant Middle High School in Jaffrey and Timberlane Regional Middle School in Plaistow.

They sliced jalapenos and wedged stuffed mushrooms into the craters of muffin tins, getting their hands dirty in hopes of impressing the culinary competition’s three judges. Students were required to incorporate mushrooms into their dishes, presented with flair to The Tuckaway Tavern and Butchery’s Bobby Marcotte, chef Bradley Wallace and William Dunkerley of Dunk’s Mushrooms in Brentwood.

The cook-off, now in its second year, started through the New Hampshire Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. “We are all members and just looking to continue to grow this,” Martinez said.

Ultimately, Merrimack Valley’s stuffed mushrooms fell to Timberlane’s strong showing of pork and shiitake gyoza.

Job growth in the culinary arts, particularly among chefs and head cooks, is expected to grow by 7% per year, which is much higher than average. While pay is often low at entry levels, it rises with experience, with executive chefs routinely making $100,000 or more per year.

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