1. The Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program is pleased to present
Food Challenge
The Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program is pleased to announced that the Texas 4-H Food Challenge will be an official contest for the upcoming, H year, and will be conducted as an official contest at 2010 Texas 4-H Roundup. The 4-H Food Challenge was developed by County Extension Agents to address the need for a new, highly charged foods experience. Modeled after such competitions as the Food Network’s Iron Chef, the 4-H Food Challenge allows teams of 4-H members to work together and create a dish using only a predetermined amount of ingredients. From these ingredients, 4-H members must identify, prepare and then present information related to the serving size, nutritional value, and cost of the dish. Throughout this energized process, the 4-H members are demonstrating their culinary and food safety stills to judges and onlookers. More than 100,000 youth participate in the 4-H Food and Nutrition Project. In order to provide additional opportunities for youth to apply their knowledge and skills gained through the food and nutrition project, the Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program is offering the Food Challenge.

2. Objectives
Provide an opportunity for each participant to exhibit their knowledge and skills when preparing and presenting a dish.
Provide an opportunity for each participant to learn from other team members and to promote teamwork.
Empower youth to participate in a public speaking role.
Provide leadership opportunities for youth.
Give 4-H members the opportunity to participate in a new, exciting competitive event.
The objectives of the 4-H Food Challenge are:
Provide an opportunity for each participant to exhibit their knowledge and skills when preparing and presenting a dish.
Provide an opportunity for each participant to learn from other team members and to promote teamwork.
Empower youth to participate in a public speaking role.
Provide leadership opportunities for youth.
Give 4-H members the opportunity to participate in a new, exciting competitive event.

3. The Future
2010
First official Texas 4-H Food Challenge Contest at 4-H Roundup (Wednesday Contest)
Late in 2008, a team of County Extension Agents and 4-H Specialists was formed to provide leadership to the development of the official 4-H Food Challenge rules and guidelines. It was then announced that the Food Challenge will be an official contest at the 2010 Texas 4-H Roundup and will be conducted as a Thursday Contest.

4. What’s happening with…?
NO CONTEST IS BEING PHASED OUT!
A common question that the 4-H Program has received since making the announcement about the food challenge is whether or not any other contest will be phased out. At this point, the Texas 4-H & Youth Development Program has no intentions of phasing out, or getting rid of, any contest, such as the Food Show or Nutrition Quiz Bowl. The Food Challenge is another, additional opportunity for youth to participate in.
Since the food show is an individual contest held on a Thursday, the committee felt that it was best to offer the Food Challenge (a team event) on that same day (vs. offering it on the same day as the quiz bowl…a team contest). Therefore, 4-H members can choose whether they want to be a part of an individual contest or a team contest on that day.

5. Food Challenge Basics Team Event Age Divisions Two Parts
Teams made up of H members
Age Divisions
Junior/Intermediate
Senior
Two Parts
Preparation
Presentation
As previously stated, the 4-H Food Challenge is a team event. Teams are made up of three to five 4-H members.
Teams may not be of mixed age divisions. The age divisions for the contest are:
Junior/Intermediate – Juniors and Intermediates may serve on a Food Challenge team together. These two age divisions have been combined into one for the purpose of this contest, giving older youth the opportunity to serve in a leadership role for younger youth that may be on the same team. In addition, this will help with logistics and facilities at the contest.
Senior – Senior 4-H members must serve on a team made up only of seniors. Only senior 4-H members are eligible to advance to the state contest at Texas 4-H Roundup.
There are two parts to this contest, which are
Preparation, during which teams work together to plan and prepare their dish
Presentation to the judges

6. Preparation Set of ingredients provided for each team
Ingredients will be representative of 1 of 4 categories
Main Dish
Fruits & Vegetables
Nutritious Snacks
Grains
From ingredients, 4-H members:
Develop recipe
Prepare dish
Prepare presentation for judges
Clean up work space
Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Each team is given a predetermined set of ingredients at their work station. The ingredients will represent one of the four categories:
Main Dish
Fruits and Vegetables
Nutritious Snacks
Grains
For the junior/intermediate age division, you may want to also give a clue with the ingredients to help “guide” them on what to create. Senior-age 4-H members should not need a clue. Knowing what category they have been assigned to should be a good enough clue.
Based on the ingredients provided, the teams must decide what they want to make and develop a recipe, prepare the dish according to their recipe, prepare a presentation for the judges and clean up their work space. All of this must be done within 40 minutes.

7. Presentation Teams highlight: Presentation Guidelines:
Steps taken to prepare dish
Nutrients found in dish and their functions
Food safety practices and concerns related to preparation and storage
Cost analysis (prices provided)
Refer to scorecard for more topics to highlight! (p. 9)
Presentation Guidelines:
5 minutes – presentation
3 minutes – judges’ questions
All team members must participate
A minimum of 3 team members must have a speaking role
After the preparation period, each team will present their dish to the judges. The presentation must be prepared during the 40-minute preparation time.
During the presentation, the teams should highlight:
Steps taken to prepare the dish
Nutrients found in dish and their functions
Food safety practices and concerns related to preparation and storage
Size of a serving and the number of servings provided by the dish
Cost analysis: Teams will be provided with a list of the ingredients and the cost of each. From that, teams must determine the cost per serving for their recipe.
In preparation for the Food Challenge, teams should refer to the Food Challenge scorecard for additional topics they may want to include in their presentation.
Teams are also scored on the actual presentation of their dish created and prepared.
Each team has 5 minutes for their presentation to the judges.
After the presentation, the judges will have 3 minutes to ask questions of the team.
All team members must participate in the presentation. However, only three team members must have a speaking role. Ways the others can participate is bring the dish in and present it to the judges.

8. Rules of Play
Each team is required to provide their own supply box (list provided on page 4 in manual)
Teams will be provided with a copy of the official educational resources and cannot bring their own resources into contest
A challenge/obstacle may be presented to each team to overcome during the contest
Only participants and contest officials are allowed in the food preparation area
Tasting is not allowed by judges
Placing is based on ranking of teams by judges
There are specific rules of play for the Food Challenge, which include the following:
1. Each team is required to provide their own supply box to use during the competition. A list of supplies that are allowed to be included in the supply box is available and should be provided to teams. One way that teams can demonstrate responsibility in this entire process is to help supply the box. So, assign each team member some supplies to bring to fill the box! Contents of a supply box can be acquired for less than $100 pretty easily.
There are various educational resources that have been deemed the “official” contest resources. These resources will be provided to each team at their work station. Teams may NOT bring their own resources with them to the contest.
A challenge and/or obstacle may be presented to each team to overcome during the contest. Specific examples and/or clues will not be provided to teams ahead of time. However, some basic examples are:
Give teams ingredients but tell them they can only use some of them (8 of the 10 ingredients)
Teams must find a way to reduce the sodium in the dish
Give them a scenario. For example, “Hurricane Ike just past through and you have all nonperishable ingredients to use for dinner tonight.”
Only participants and contest officials are allowed in the food preparation area. The contest officials may be volunteers that are serving as group monitors, making sure food safety practices are followed and that teams are abiding by the contest rules.
Tasting is not allowed by the judges. It is also recommended that leftover food NOT be shared with any participant or the audience.
Placing of teams is based on ranking of the teams by judges. A team ranking form is provided for agents to use when facilitating the contest.

9. Rules: Advancing to the Next Level
How many teams can advance from county to district?
2 junior/intermediate teams (1st & 2nd place)
2 senior teams (1st & 2nd place)
At county, teams are not judged and place by category
How many teams can advance from district to state?
Seniors only
Four teams per district
1st place team from each category
It is recommended that each district allow two junior/intermediate teams and two senior teams from each county to advance to district. This means that the teams will not be placed in each food category at the county level. Instead, all teams within the same age division (no matter what category their ingredients fall in) will be judged against each other and placed.
The top two (1st and 2nd place) junior/intermediate teams will advance to district, as well as the top two (1st and 2nd place) senior teams will advance to district.
For logistical purposes, it is best if juniors and intermediates are combined to make up teams. This also gives older youth the opportunity to serve in a leadership role.
At district:
Junior/intermediate teams may be judged as one big division, or they may be judged and placed within the four categories. The second option provides the opportunity for more youth to be recognized at the district level.
Senior teams will be placed within each of the four categories. The first place team from each category will advance to state. Teams advancing to state will not automatically compete or be assigned to the same category as they were at district.

10. Supply Box Teams will be responsible for putting together supply box
Visit discount stores (Wal-Mart and Dollar Stores)
Make sure your team has ALL items in supply box – you never know what you are going to need!
Boxes will be checked upon arrival at the contest
Note about double burner hot plate

11. Contest Resources Participant Rules Educational Resources (provided)
County/District
State
Educational Resources (provided)
MyPyramid
FightBac
Nutrient Needs at a Glance
Cooking Food Safely is a Matter of Degrees
Altering Recipes for Good Health
Additional Team Resources (provided)
Team Worksheet (p. 10)
Receipt
Participant Rules have been developed, not only for the state contest, but also for agents to use for the county and district level contests.
Teams may use many other publications and resources to prepare for the Food Challenge. However, the “official” Food Challenge Contest resources that will be provided for each team are:
MyPyramid – provides an overview of an individual’s daily nutritional needs.
FightBac – provides an overview of the four steps that are important in order to keep food safe.
Nutrient Needs at a Glance – provides an estimated safe and adequate daily dietary intake of selected vitamins and minerals, including the sources and functions of each vitamin and mineral, along with signs of deficiency.
Cooking Food Safely is a Matter of Degrees – Provides an overview of safe minimum internal temperatures recommended by the USDA when cooking.
Altering Recipes for Good Health – Provides an overview of how recipes can be altered to make dishes healthier.
Additional resources that will be provided to each team includes:
Team Worksheet – teams may use this worksheet to prepare for the presentation to the judges.
Receipt – Each team should be provided with a copy of the receipt from the purchase of the ingredients. This can be done in several ways:
Created on a Word document
A receipt of all ingredients for all teams provided to each team
Each team provided with a receipt for their ingredients only

12. Recipe & Clue Example
The American Dietetic Association says breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Ingredients:
Flour
Baking Powder
Salt
Egg
Milk
Butter
Instructions:
Within 40 minutes:
Develop a recipe using all of the ingredients provided.
Prepare the dish according to the recipe you created.
Prepare a presentation for the judges.
Note: You have three coupons to use at the “Pantry of Perks.” You must use at least two of the coupons.

13. Recipe & Clue Example Category: Grains Clue: Roll it out! Ingredients:
3 cups white, all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup applesauce
1 cup warm water

14. State: The Final Challenge
What day is the state contest during Roundup?
Wednesday
How many teams can a district send to state?
Four teams – The top team from each food category
Note: Teams advancing to state will not automatically be assigned to the same category as they were at district.
At the 2010 Texas 4-H Roundup, the 4-H Food Challenge will be conducted as a Thursday Contest.
Each district can send four teams to state. These four teams are the top team from each food category at the district contest. Please remember, teams advancing to state will not automatically be assigned to the same category as they were at district!

15. 4-H Food Challenge Manual

16. What questions do you have?