Teens "Flipping the Table"

TBC partnered with Flip The Table for an afternoon filled with cooking, led by TBC's themselves, and great group discussion about carbon footprint and commodification, facilitated by the Flip The Table teens. 

TBC, Maybelline Amaya from UAMA leads teens through "Veggie ID" exercise where they try a variety of seasonal veggies and have to identify what they are. 

Flip the Table and TBC teens working together

"I have to say that the panzanella recipe tasted AMAZING! I enjoyed cooking, meeting new people and sharing ideas. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it. Hopefully we can do it again” – Maybelline Amaya 

Dr. Oz USANA Battle!

In February, Teen Battle Chef students from HealthCorps schools in NY and NJ joined together to practice and prepare two delicious dishes: Kenyan Style Greens and Black-Eyed Peas with Collard Greens Soup! The two teams presented their dishes to an audience at Columbia University's School of Public Health for a HealthCorps and USANA press event.  The teams dazzled the crowd with their delicious recipes and presentations. The NJ team won for recipe taste and the NY team won for presentation skills! 

When asked to reflect on their experience - here is what some teen's had to say: 


"Ohh it was awesome.  I loved being in front of so many people and showing them what we had learned. I liked making and showing the dish and it was just like, "Ohh man, I'm actually cooking in front of so many people and professional chefs and especially Dr. Oz!" It was just amazing and I will never forget that day." - Maudiel Romero, New Jersey  


"For me personally, it was a competition I will never forget because I met Dr.Oz and Lisa Oz and 2 famous chefs and the two co-founders of USANA. This competition really meant a lot because it was the first time my mom saw me in a competition and she was so proud of me. Plus meeting these kids from Jersey was cool too." - Jonathan Espinosa, Aviation HS graduate

Molly B talking to Rocco Dispirito

Maudiel, Ariel, Krystal - NJ "Kenyan Greens" Team

Judges Panel

Dr. Oz congratulating the students

BK Salsa JARRING day - "The Kids"

Today, students from Urban Assembly (UAMA) and West Side High School joined together to jar over 300 jars of Salsa, with the help of the BK Salsa team (Rob, Matt & Casey) - created and prepared by the students themselves! Hear what some the students have to say about their experience working together and learning from the 'pros' about mass producing the "Sweet Heat" West Side Salsa - "The Kids". They used many fresh ingredients: mango, cucumber, green bell pepper, red onion, ginger, cilantro, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. 

"Having this opportunity to make this salsa has opened many culinary doors for me. It has shown me that cooking is more than just random ingredients being chopped and stirred; it is a form of art that requires curiosity and imagination." – Jonathan Hernandez

"This experience was amazing - getting to interact with others outside of UAMA was great, and I also loved getting the first hand experience of making the salsa with the founders and creators!" – Emma Moise

Sarah, West Side's HC Coordinator hard at work! 

Maybelline rolling out 200 limes!

Measuring out all of our ingredients for batches

Jessica, Emma, and Maybelline enjoying some Salsa!

Boxing up the finished product! 

BK Salsa Cookoff!

In partnership with BK Salsa, a new local salsa creator and distributor, we proposed a challenge to 2 Teen Battle Chef groups – who can create the most unique and delicious salsa? Teams from Urban Assembly High School in Brooklyn and West Side High School in Manhattan were up for the challenge!

After weeks of developing the perfect recipe, the two teams created their perfect recipe and competed for the best recipe.  West Side’s “Sweet Heat” recipe won the judges and audience vote – with their combination of sweet and spicy flavors: mango, cucumber, red onion, pepper, cilantro, ginger and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. 

Urban Assembly Team: Kano, Arnes, Maybelline, Brianno, Ebony 

West Side Team: Iskask, Star, Liz 

“Making this salsa with my friends from school was great. We really put our effort into it.  The competition was great! Although everything we made came out perfect – I was still shocked when we won!” – Star, West Side High School

“Making our salsa has been one of the most amazing opportunities that I have been given.  With this experience, I now have a stronger interest in the culinary arts. I am so happy that I was part of this experience. Yay for the Brooklyn Salsa Company!” – Liz Cordero-Hernandez, West Side High School 

Teen Battle Chef's on FOX Good Day New York!

In October Michele and Chima two of our star Teen Battle Chef's showed off their skills and knowledge with two delicious recipes on FOX Good Day New York.

Check it out here! http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/about_us/street_talk/street-talk-oct-1-2011

See what Chima & Michele  had to say about their experience...
"In the beginning I was very nervous because this was my first time cooking on television. I was afraid something would go wrong or I would forget an ingredient or even what I planned to say. I felt this experience really re-enforced my public speaking skills to a whole new level. In the end I was super excited that I made it through the segment without any mistakes and had fun working with Michele and doing what I love; teaching others how to be conscience about creating better /healthier eating habits not just for themselves but also for the ones they love."-Chef Chima

"On Thursday September 30 I was lucky enough to go on the Fox 5 Street Talk show with Chima. I spoke about how obesity affected people and even some of my weaknesses before I had joined Teen Battle Chef. It was VERY nerve wrecking but in the end I felt much better. Most definitely a great experience that I don't regret. Thanks Teen Battle Chef!"- Chef Michele

Abigail Kirsch Kitchen

My experiences in TBC definitely impacted the way I behaved in the kitchen at pier 60. It's been an all around great experience. I've done so much, for instance I work side by side with chefs cutting huge amounts of a certain fruit/vegetables. It was the nicest place to be and one of the chefs said "if we weren't nice to each other then work would be a lot harder" and it's true they spend majority of their time with each other. Personally, I would like to thank them for taking me into their home and showing me the ropes. -Chef Jonathon

Itrulli Resturant Internship

I'm a Teen Battle Chef intern and my site is in Itrulli. I work up close and personal with a very talented lady named Patti Jackson. I have learned things I never even knew were possible, It has opened so many doors and now I'm so grateful and I'm having a blast! The workshops, field trips, and the kitchen are all fun and I love it because it makes me happy to find a program that has given me so much. It showed me that we all can make a change no matter who we are. We are all the future so lets make it brighter by stirring up change! Be a Teen Battle Chef, join our journey!-Chef Ana