Deadline to register is January 9, 2026
Complete Steps 1-10 by January 23, 2026
Complete Steps 11-14 by February 6, 2026
The Fueling Georgia’s Future Student Chef Competition is designed to encourage students to engage with school nutrition professionals and learn about the process of planning for, sourcing, and preparing school meals. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their culinary skills in a competitive environment while gaining valuable knowledge and experience in recipe development, food preparation, teamwork, and local food systems. In addition, this competition aims to stimulate interest in locally produced agriculture in school nutrition programs. The recipes will feature Georgia grown ingredients. The results are nutritious, student-inspired recipes that include local foods and are easily incorporated into school nutrition programs.
Explore Student Chef Competition resources including: Competition Overview, Curriculum Connections, Recipe Template, Scoring Rubrics and Videos.
Team Advisors can request a user ID and password for the competition website by emailing fuelingga@gadoe.org. To best support teams, please ensure all emails include Student Chef 2026, Advisor Name, and School Name and District.
Middle School
Develop a recipe for a school breakfast entree.
High School
Develop a recipe for a school lunch entrée.
Competition Levels
Middle School: The competition has two phases: a recipe competition followed by a recipe contest for selected finalists.
High School: The competition has two phases: a recipe competition followed by a cooking competition for selected finalists.
This competition meets Georgia education standards and provides students with hands on learning opportunities. Many of these student developed recipes will be incorporated into school meals across Georgia.
The High School statewide winner will move on and represent Georgia at the Southeast Regional Competition.
