Culinary Students Support NTFB Through Taste of the Cowboys Youth Challenge

The cooking competition tasked teens with creating a tailgate menu based on NTFB’s most-needed items list.

^{Instructors and students volunteered at North Texas Food Bank prior to the Taste of the Cowboys Youth Challenge.}

Students from six area high schools tested their cooking skills during the recent Taste of the Cowboys Youth Challenge event at AT&T Stadium. The event is presented by the Dallas Cowboy and Dairy MAX as a companion event to North Texas Food Bank’s June 13 Taste! At the Star fundraiser (formerly called Taste of the Cowboys).

“We challenge them to take NTFB’s most needed list and create a tailgate-themed menu, including an appetizer, entrée and a dessert,” says Whitney Brandon Faulkner, public relations and community relations program manager for Dallas Cowboys.

Along with using ingredients from NTFB’s list, each menu had to feature some form of dairy, include only items that can be purchased at most grocery stores, and be compliant with Mi plato, which is the USDA’s nutrition guide. Dishes were also judged on creativity, taste and presentation.

This year, Whitney says they also threw a new challenge at the teams. Each recipe was executed with only a stovetop burner, a toaster oven and an air fryer.

The winning team, Ben Barber Innovation Academy in Mansfield, received $10,000 for their school’s program, and the top two teams will be invited to cook along with AT&T Legends staff during a game day. The Legends chefs will work with the students to transform their winning recipes into game-day fare that can be served to fans as they’re cheering on the Cowboys.

All participating students are invited to apply for an internship with the Legends culinary teams.

“We want to show them you don’t have to work in a restaurant,” Whitney says. “There are hundreds of chefs who work at the stadium on game day and during events throughout the year.”

Before the competition, students from each culinary team spent an afternoon at NTFB volunteering and helping to sort, pack and box food for their neighbors facing hunger.

The teams were also provided with a budget to use toward food purchases and anything leftover was donated to NTFB to support the 1 in 6 North Texans facing hunger.

Participating schools included: Dan Dipert Career + Technical Center in Arlington ISD, Ranchview High School in Carrollton/Farmers Branch ISD, Cedar Hill High School, Skyline High School in Dallas ISD, Plano East High School and Mansfield ISD.