Kid Food Nation winners at our virtual gala with YTV hosts Spencer & Tyra and celebrity Chef Lynn Crawford

Click here to buy the Kid Food Nation Cookbook, Volume 4!

TORONTO, ON [November 30, 2020] – Created through the partnership of President’s Choice Children’s Charity, Corus Entertainment, and Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, and generously funded by the Government of Canada, the fourth annual Kid Food Nation national recipe contest asked young chefs aged 7 – 13 to submit original, healthy recipes that highlighted their culture or their Canadian pride.

Along with a prize pack that included a tablet, culinary tools, and a custom Kid Food Nation chef jacket and apron, our English-speaking winners enjoyed a virtual cooking class hosted by Chef Lynn Crawford and YTV hosts Spencer Litzinger & Tyra Sweet, while our French-speaking winners had their cooking class with Chef Marysol Foucault.

All the delicious winning recipes, including Seaweed Bread Bowl, Pandemic Chicken, Crunchy Pesto Baguette, and Cloudy Island Cod, as well as recipes and forewords from Chef Crawford and Chef Foucault, are featured in the Kid Food Nation Cookbook, Volume 4, available for purchase from the publisher Les Éditions Cardinal.

The national recipe contest is designed to bring awareness to the Kid Food Nation program that runs at Boys and Girls Clubs across the country. Generously supported by President’s Choice Children’s Charity, the Government of Canada, and Corus Entertainment, the eight-week Kid Food Nation curriculum has four main goals:

• Teach children aged 7-12 essential culinary skills
• Encourage healthy choices about the food they eat
• Empower parents and families to plan, prepare, and cook healthy meals and snacks
• Foster healthy habits for life

To date, the program has run at 80 per cent of all Boys and Girls Clubs across the country—and it’s working! Over 2,000 kids have taken part in the program and 3 out of 4 participants say they tried a new recipe at home.

President’s Choice Children’s Charity is Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada’s most significant nutrition partner. Along with Kid Food Nation, they support Basic Needs Brighter Future, Project Backpack, and Summertime Eat Well—together, the four programs ensure that all 200,000 Boys and Girls Club members eat well and thrive all year round.

Kid Food Nation also consists of a free, public website (kidfoodnation.com) created by Corus Entertainment, which includes games, videos, tips about healthy eating, fun cooking facts, recipes, and more.

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Media contact:
Jared Morrow, Media Relations Manager
jmorrow@bgccan.com
647.928.5801

Behind every great meal is a great story.

Last Sunday, 26 young chefs shared their signature recipes and the stories behind them at the second annual Kid Food Nation gala.

Hosted by YTV’s Carlos Bustamante, this year’s gala took place at the Fairmount Château Laurier in Ottawa. Gathering at the nation’s capital, the winners of the Kid Food Nation recipe contest flew in from all across Canada.

From Baked Arctic Char in Iqaluit, to Jamaican Chicken Soup in Toronto, and Garlic Moose Melt in Newfoundland & Labrador, the gala’s menu of recipes also served as an exhibition for Canada’s cultural mosaic.

“Not too spicy, not too sweet.”

Kid Food Nation winner Chaitanya’s Aloo Gobi is the tasty result of generations of family cooking. An Indian dish made from potatoes, cauliflower, and traditional south Asian spices, Chaitanya’s prize-winning recipe is also the story of Canada’s wave of immigration that shaped the country we know today.

“It’s traditional,” said Chaitanya, a Boys and Girls Club member from Edmonton. “My mom makes it, my aunts used to make it in India, so when I saw my mom making it, I was like, ‘I want to try this.'”

Aptly named, Kid Food Nation is a cross-Canada movement that teaches kids cooking skills and promotes healthy habits.

Engaging youth in the culture of food also connects them to their own heritage.

“I am of Chilean origin,” said Mirko, a contest winner from Québec, when asked about his Tacorrito recipe. “I love the food of Latin America. I have always had a passion for tacos, but also for burritos.”

“One day, my dad and I had a genius idea of mixing the two dishes. The result is delicious, easy to make, and very popular in my family!”

Set for a November release, the 26 winning meals will be showcased in the Kid Food Nation cookbook.