Last week, students from The Sylvia Center’s Cooks for Health programs stepped into the spotlight for Grand St. Settlement’s annual AAPI cook-off: a joyful, high-energy culinary competition celebrating the diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander cultures through food.
Representing partner sites across Lower Manhattan—including Nest+M, Transfiguration School, Cornelia Connelly Center, School for Global Leaders, and 80 Pitt Street—student teams spent weeks recipe testing, practicing techniques, refining flavors, and learning about the countries they were assigned ahead of the live competition.
The Dishes
Each team was tasked with exploring the food traditions of a different Asian country, then creating a dish that reflected that culture through flavor, presentation, and storytelling. Along the way, students strengthened kitchen fundamentals like knife skills, teamwork, communication, timing, and plating, while also building confidence in their ability to cook and present under pressure.
On competition day, students had one hour to prepare their dishes live in front of an audience before presenting them to a panel of judges and answering questions about their recipes, ingredients, and process.
The competing dishes included:
- Bhutanese Toh-tse from Nest+M
- Thai Pineapple Fried Rice from School for Global Leaders
- Sri Lankan Dhal Wade from 80 Pitt Street
- Nepalese Momos from Cornelia Connelly Center
- Burmese Bein Mont with sesame “brandy” sauce, whipped cream and mango sauce from Transfiguration School
The Winners
This year’s winning team was Transfiguration School, supported by TSC Chef Educators Gabriel and Georgia, whose beautifully executed Bein Mont impressed judges with both its flavor and presentation.
More than a competition, the cook-off gave students the opportunity to collaborate, problem-solve, explore new ingredients, and celebrate the richness and diversity of Asian cultures through cooking. From recipe testing to final plating, students showed creativity, determination, and tremendous care for one another throughout the process.
A huge congratulations to every young cook who participated—and to our TSC educators, who guided and encouraged students every step of the way!
And a huge thank you to our Board and Culinary Council members who made up the judging panel: Arlene Spiegel, David Kramer, Jae Lee, and Georgette Farkas.
