POTSDAM -- The Health Initiative’s second annual North Country Jr. Iron Chef competition produced middle- and high-school winners and a slew of promising recipes.

Overall, 17 middle school teams and six high school teams showed up to compete on March 8 for the title of North Country Jr. Iron Chefs.

Each team prepared a healthy, delicious dish with local and commodity ingredients that could be realistically prepared in a school cafeteria.

This contest is a regional youth cooking competition that spans Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties, and has been held at the A.A. Kingston Middle School in Potsdam.

The winning teams for the middle school competition were:

• Peru Blue of Peru Central School who took first place with their recipe for “Fiery North Country Chili.”

• CF Zebra Chefs of Clifton-Fine Central School received second place for their “Very Veggie Soup” recipe.

• Soup-A-Starz of Canton Central School earned third place with their “Bestest Bean and Vegetable Soup.”

• The Fantastic Five of Potsdam earned an honorable mention for their “Hearty Vegetable Soup” dish.

The winning teams for the high school competition were:

• Top Cats of Northern Adirondack Central School who received first place with their “NACH Your Average Enchiladas.”

• Peru Culinary Artisans of Peru Central School who received second place for their “Warm You Up Winter Nachos.”;

• Future Chefs of North Franklin BOCES received third place for their “Open Sesame Rainbow Slaw Burgers.”

• French Toast Mafia of Clifton-Fine Central School received honorable mention for their “Oh My Oats French Toast.”

This chefs were helped in their success with the support of many sponsors: Fidelis Care, Golden Griddle sponsor; Healthy Schools NY and United Healthcare Community Plan, Pewter Platter sponsors; Community Bank, N.A, Copper Kettle sponsor; Lewis County General Hospital, Bamboo Bowl sponsor; and Cabot Creamery Cooperative, Hurlbut Tent Rental, and Northern Music and Video, Wire Whisk sponsors. We’re also grateful for the support of Potsdam Central School; Chef Kyle Mayette at Clarkson University; Potsdam Public Library; Birdsfoot Farm; North Country Grown Cooperative; and event volunteers.

Team recipes and photos are available on the event website at ncjrironchef.org.

North Country Jr. Iron Chef is a competition for teams of middle and high school students from around New York’s North Country to develop healthy recipes using a combination of local and commodity foods that realistically could be prepared in a school cafeteria.