Kids show grilling skills

By Michael Brooks

Staff Writer

As the smoke filled the air with various meats cooking during the Jackson County Chili Spill, 12 kids stood by their own personal grills trying to make sure that their steaks were cooked perfectly.

The Kids Que was a new event added to the Chili Spill roster this year. Twelve kids, ages eight to 12 years old were provided a pre-lit grill, a rib-eye steak, and their own cooking apron. As soon as they were given their steaks, they all began adding their own personal marinades and spices. They were given about 40 minutes to marinate and cook their steak and when the time was up, they presented their steak to the judges. 

“One of our staff members had been to a cook off where they did a Kids Que so we went online to check out other events similar to this,” said Cammie Pearson, LNRA recreation manager. “We pulled from various other events and got this together. We limited the number to 12. We had a couple of kids that had conflicts and instantly we found others that wanted to jump in and take their spots.”

Before the event started, some of the kids were nervous, but seemed excited to get their cooking started.

“I'm excited,” said Maggie Sklar. “I’ve been cooking. I practiced on steak and pork chops. I am nervous, but excited.”

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