(05/22/26) ALEXANDRIA, La. — With a mystery ingredient revealed and the clock ticking, 4-H food challenge teams competing in the State 4-H Food Challenge in Alexandria had just 40 minutes to create a nutritious, budget-friendly dish featuring cauliflower.

The food challenge incorporates all aspects of preparing a meal. Teams must plan a meal around the surprise ingredient, budget and shop from a pantry, prepare the meal and create a breakdown of the nutritional value and cost of the dish to present to a panel of judges.

“This contest has had an amazing effect on my 4-H’ers,” said Ami Alton, a 4-H agent from DeSoto Parish. “The growth in creativity, nutritional knowledge, presentation skills, teamwork and time management has been outstanding.”

Teams qualified for the competition by advancing through regional events within their respective divisions. Division I includes fourth- through sixth-grade students, Division II is made up of seventh and eighth graders and all high school students compete in Division III.

“The food challenge really sparks my creativity,” DeSoto Parish fifth grader Cooper Hatcher said. “Doing this helps me be more creative in the classroom and in 4-H.” Their meal was inspired by the group’s anticipation of 4-H camp this summer.

Youth compete in teams, and with names like EBR Spice Girls, Whisk Takers and Gumbo Gators, there was no shortage of food-inspired fanfare at the event. Parents and agents waved signs with sayings like “chop it like it’s hot” and eagerly waited by the door to hear the results of the presentation.

Cauliflower as the secret ingredient came as a surprise to many teams.

“At first we were a little worried, but once we decided to do a cauliflower stir-fry, we felt really confident in our meal and our presentation,” said Abigail Harr, a ninth grader from the East Baton Rouge Parish team the EBR Spice Girls.

The EBR Spice Girls won first place in Division III and will have the opportunity to compete for a national title in September. They are coached by Meggan Franks, and Candace Derbes and Olivia Picard are the agents for East Baton Rouge Parish 4-H.

Other winners included:

• Division I: DeSoto Parish, first place; Acadia Parish, second place; Evangeline Parish, third place
• Division II: Natchitoches Parish, first place; Acadia Parish, second place; Acadia Parish, third place
• Division III: East Baton Rouge Parish, first place; Vernon Parish, second place; Winn Parish, third place

After taking first place in Division III, the Spice Girls of East Baton Rouge Parish will represent Louisiana at the national contest. The team competed at the Louisiana State 4-H Food Challenge on May 20 in Alexandria. Photo by Meggan Franks/LSU AgCenter.

A team incorporated the surprise ingredient into a salad at the Louisiana State 4-H Food Challenge on May 20 in Alexandria. Photo by Shelly Kleinpeter/LSU AgCenter.

The DeSoto Parish team created a meal inspired by their excitement for 4-H summer camp at the Louisiana State 4-H Food Challenge on May 20 in Alexandria. Photo by Shelly Kleinpeter/LSU AgCenter.

The Red River Parish team prepared a vegetable pasta dish using cauliflower at the Louisiana State 4-H Food Challenge on May 20 in Alexandria. Photo by Shelly Kleinpeter/LSU AgCenter.