Garlic Festival: Calling young cooks! Compete in the 2019 Garlic Chef Jr. Contest

MasterChef Winner Gerron Hurt will serve as emcee for kids cook-off

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Gerron Hurt

Calling all young cooks. It’s time to get ready for the 2019 Garlic Chef Jr. Contest for the 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival.

Building on the success of last year’s first-ever Garlic Chef Jr. cooking competition, the contest will return Friday, July 26.

Young chefs ages 9 to 18 are encouraged to apply by May 1 to compete on the Garlic Cook-Off Stage. MasterChef Season 9 Winner Gerron Hurt will serve as emcee for the event.

Each contestant must create one cooked or baked dish using his or her own original recipe containing at least six cloves of garlic. Chefs will have two hours to prepare their dishes on the Garlic Cook-Off Stage and are allowed to have one adult (non-professional) sous chef on stage to assist them. A panel of expert judges will evaluate each dish for taste, appearance, creativity, and use of garlic. The winner will be presented with a gift valued at $500.

“We learned last year that we have a lot of talented young chefs in our community, and it was so much fun to see them competing on the Garlic Cook-Off Stage,” said Denise Buessing, Co-Chair of the 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival Recipe Contest Committee. “We look forward to seeing some new contestants this year and can’t wait to taste what they cook up.”

The inaugural Garlic Chef Jr. contest was won by Addison Dell, who wowed the judges with her Garlic Mac N Cheese with Crispy Garlic Chicken Tenders and Roasted Asparagus.

For more information and to get the online application, visit gilroygarlicfestival.com/festival/cooking-events/garlic-chef-jr.