Lake Region students competed in the Jr. Iron Chef Vermont Competition Saturday, March 14th at the Essex Expo Center. Hosted by Vermont Afterschool, this is a "career exploration program and competition that empowers Vermont youth to create locally sourced meals that promote Vermont's Farm to School efforts." More than 6,000 Vermont students have participated in this competition since its inception in 2008. This year more than 50 teams participated, preparing, testing, and tweaking recipes while building teamwork, leadership, and communication skills. Student teams have just 90 minutes to produce small plates to be sampled by the judges, who award three prizes: Mise en Place (for organization, preparation, and professionalism), Lively Local (for teams that source the most ingredients through partnership with local farms), and Crowd Pleaser (for tasty, popular dishes). We are proud to announce that our students' hard work paid off. Lake Region's Ranger Raccoons won the Mise en Place award for their entry, "Raccoons Gone Curry-ous," a curried squash and potato dish served over jasmine rice with a bright, lemony cilantro sauce. Congratulations, Ranger Raccoons!