“MasterChef Junior,” move over. There’s another youth cooking competition in town.
No Struggle No Success (NSNS) is partnering with the Franciscan Center and Central Baltimore Partnership to hold the “Kids in the Kitchen and Off the Streets” youth cooking competition. The event will take place this Saturday, April 6, at the Franciscan Center in Baltimore.
While the event is not open to the public, community members can support any of the partner organizations through their websites.
Four teams of two young people each will compete in a pizza and pasta cooking competition that will be divided into three segments, including a pre-workshop for all participating youth. The pre-workshop took place on March 23, where the participants took a culinary workshop presented by a culinary expert who taught them basic cooking skills, kitchen protocol, and a focus on the cuisines they’ll be preparing.
On competition day, the teams will compete in a timed environment to prepare their assigned dishes. They’ll be provided a pantry stocked with a wide variety of ingredients to foster creativity, each focusing on a specific type of dish: pasta or pizza.
“These categories were chosen to appeal to a broad range of skills and tastes, encouraging participants to explore diverse culinary traditions and techniques,” reads the press release announcing the contest.
The final segment will have selected guests and chefs taste the dishes prepared by the youth chefs and give them feedback on their creations. Each participant will receive a trophy, and the winning team will receive a pizza making kit as the grand prize, presented to them by the Franciscan Center.
Youth participants were selected from previous and present members of the NSNS youth empowerment program, in addition to youth from Central Baltimore Partnership who expressed an interest in participating.
The NSNS Youth Empowerment Pilot Program was created in 2018 (and became a nonprofit in 2020) to strengthen the capabilities of young people ages 11 – 24 through a six-month initiative for youth and a 12-month initiative for emerging adults. The core objective is to ensure the well-being of its participants as they advance through the phases of their lives. There is a special emphasis on disconnected youth aged 16-24 who are involved in the juvenile justice system.
“The program is designed to foster a comprehensive suite of services to nurture young individuals’ overall growth. Among the primary youth services offered are mentorship, support, and workshops,” according to the press release. “This includes involvement in community service, adherence to community supervision mandates, guidance in family planning, anger management strategies, addiction counseling, and the development of practical skills such as cooking (where applicable), driving, cleaning, budgeting, financial planning, and personal hygiene, all aimed at enhancing daily living capabilities.”
No Struggle No Success has a mission to foster freedom, family values, financial stability, and provide alternatives to illegal activities and street live. They’re focused on holistic healing and evidence-based methods to detect early warning signs, offer prevention services, and provide reentry strategies to reduce recidivism and community violence.
