Five teams to face off in all-day cooking showdown

🍴 Who will be Klamath County School District’s first-ever Iron Chefs? 🔥

Student teams from Chiloquin, Bonanza, Lost River, Mazama, and Henley high schools are set to face off in an all-day cooking showdown this Friday, May 2 — all for a shiny trophy 🏆 and the ultimate bragging rights of becoming KCSD’s first Iron Chefs.

The heat peaks at 4 p.m., when five local business leaders will serve as blind taste-test judges — sampling each dish without knowing which team prepared it. Then at 4:30 p.m., invited guests and ticket holders will enjoy a delicious dinner together.

Each team is coached by an educator and mentored by a local restaurant chef. The challenge? Create an appetizer using pork belly and an entrée using bone-in pork shoulder—plus two sides and a dessert, to serve 25 people.

Thank you to Diamond S Meat Co. for donating 250 pounds of pork, and to KCSD for providing each team with a $300 food budget.

The event was created and organized by Superintendent Glen Szymoniak, Food Services Supervisor Jennifer Detwiler, and Farm to School Specialist Kekoa Taipin, who wanted to give students in culinary, agriculture, and food science programs a chance to showcase their skills in a real-world, community-centered competition.