Bell County Food Challenge & Food Show
When: Monday, November 10, 2025
Where: Bell County Extension Office
Time: check your emails if you signed up!
Entry Forms Due: Monday, October 27, 2025. Please complete and return to sheryl.long@ag.tamu.edu
2025 Entry Form (Fillable PDF)
District 8 Food Challenge & Food Show
Event Information
Food Show/Food Challenge Schedule
| Cost: $12 per student per event |
| Date: Thursday, December 4, 2025 |
| Location: Cadence Bank Center (formerly Bell County Expo Center) |
| Registration: October 27-November 14, 2025 |
| Waiver (completed in 4-H Online): Waiver |
Location:
| Cadence Bank Center (formerly Bell County Expo Center) |
| 301 W Loop 121 |
| Belton, TX 76513 |
Rules & Guidelines and Forms
Both Contests-Rules & Forms
Tentative Schedule ( Coming soon!!)
Detailed Schedule
Food Show
The Food Show allows participants to prepare a recipe at home and bring the day of the contest. Participants present the prepared dish to a panel of judges with a presentation and interview to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have gained in their Food & Nutrition project.
We will have THREE age divisions for Food Show: Junior, Intermediate, and Seniors. Read the guidelines for more details.
The theme for the 2024 and 2025 state contest will be: Cooking Through the Decades… Take a trip back in time and explore different dishes that were popular in years past! Some of our most favorite recipes and dishes were made popular in a different decade than we live in today.
Food Show
Rules & Guidelines & All Forms
Sample Questions
Recipe Submission Checklist
Texas 4-H Food Show Rules & Guidelines
Texas 4-H Food & Nutrition Resources
Food Challenge
More than 120,000 youth participate in the 4-H Food & Nutrition Project, learning how to prepare nutritious and safe meals and snacks and adopt behaviors that can help reduce their risk for chronic disease. The 4-H Food Challenge is a “highly charged” foods experience. This contest, modeled after such competitions as the Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” challenges teams of 4-H members to create a dish using only a predetermined number of ingredients. From these ingredients, team members must identify and prepare the dish, then make a presentation about it to the judges. The presentation will include information about the serving size, nutritional value, and cost of the dish. The 4-H Food Challenge allows 4-H members to demonstrate their culinary and food safety skills to judges and observers.
At the Food Challenge, teams of 3-4 students receive a list of ingredients and have 40 minutes to create a dish. The teams then present their dish to judges and are scored on preparation, serving size, food safety concerns, nutritional value and cost. Students qualify at the county and district level to compete at the state contest. Review all the rules in the Food Challenge Manual.
We will have THREE age divisions for Food Challenge: Junior, Intermediate, and Seniors. Read the guidelines for more details.
Juniors may move up to the Intermediate age division when participating on a team that has a true Intermediates (based upon grades listed above) on it. No one may move up to the Senior age division. NO individual may move down to a younger age division.
Food Challenge
Rules & Guidelines & All Forms
All Age Divisions Preparation Scorecard
Texas 4-H Food Challenge Manual
Texas 4-H Food & Nutrition Resources
Food Challenge – Additional Resources:
- FightBac – Fight Foodborne Bacteria Brochure
- Know Your Nutrients
- MyPlate Mini-Poster
- For more information visit: https://texas4-h.tamu.edu/projects/food-nutrition/#contests
- For more information visit: District 8 4-H Youth Development
Food Challenge Supply Box
| Bench Scraper
Bowls (up to 4-any size) Calculator Can opener Colander Cookie Cutters (up to 2 – team choice) Cutting Boards ( up to 4) Disposable tasting spoons (no limit) Dry measuring cups (1 set) Electric skillet Extension cord (multiple outlet or strip style) (Teams should be certain the extension cord is compatible (2-prong/3-prong) with the plugs on their electrical supplies.) First aid kit Food thermometer Fork Gloves Grater Hand sanitizer Hot pads (up to 5) Kitchen shears (1 pair) Kitchen timer Knives ( up to 6) Liquid measuring cup Manual pencil sharpener Meat Tenderizer Measuring spoons (1 set)
|
Non-stick cooking spray
Note cards (1 package – no larger than 5×7) Paper towels (1 roll) Pancake turner (up to 2) Pencils (no limit) Plastic box & trash bag for dirty equipment (An empty tub for dirty dishes may be placed on top of supply box) Pot with lid Potato masher Potato peeler Rolling Pin Sanitizing wipes (1 container) Serving dishes/utensils (1 plate/platter, 1 bowl, 1 utensil) Skewers (1 set) Skillet with lid Spatulas (up to 2) Stirring spoon Storage bags (1 box) Tongs (up to 2) Toothpicks (no limit) Two single-burner hot plates OR one double-burner plate (electric only!) Whisk Pantry Items: Salt, Pepper, Oil (up to 17 oz) 1 jar chicken bouillon 1 medium onion 2 (up to 16 oz) cans vegetables and/or fruit (team choice) Rice* (white or brown) or pasta* (up to 16 oz) (team choice) *must be uncooked/dried Cornstarch (up to 1lb) or Flour (up to 1lb) (team choice) |