Oh my gosh! She did it! [tweetthis]Our own Emmie Picchi from District 47, Woods Creek Elementary School is one of five Sodexo Future Chefs finalists.  Now it’s up to us to vote for her and her Won Ton Tacos.   Vote for Emmie by clicking here.[/tweetthis]

There’s only five days left to show Emmie your support.

Emmie, is 9½ and in the fourth grade.  Her recipe was crunchy Wonton Taco Cups.  She’s been cooking for a year or two. She got interested in cooking because her mom and dad love to cook.  She watches about half of the cooking shows on the Food Network.  “Guy Fury is my favorite,” Emmie told me. “I like how he goes through different towns and tries different recipes.” Emmie doesn’t always help with the clean up.  “We clean up as a family.”  Emmie says that her older brother, 15, makes his own meals because he’s a vegetarian and a vegan.  “I think I won because mine was a combo of Asian and Mexican.” She enjoys making a variety of ethnic foods. “Try your hardest,” Emmie advises. “Just have fun and you’ll be a winner.”

“They’re a combination of Asian and Mexican food,” she told Denise Barr from D47. “I was looking for an Asian-inspired recipe and found one on Pinterest, so I decided to make it my own.”

You may remember me writing about Emmie, who took first place at the third annual Sodexo Future Chefs competition held at Hannah Beardsley Middle School in Crystal Lake on March 24th.  Her joy and enthusiasm just bubbled over and I couldn’t help but become a fan.  I can’t wait to see her face when she wins at the finals.  Just look at her beaming face.

To read more about the local Sodexo competition click here.  At the competition, Emmie and eight other District 47 fourth and fifth graders prepared their Asian-inspired recipes for a panel of judges. Emmie was the only student in Illinois to finish among 40 regional semi-finalists. Yay Emmie!

Don’t forget,  Vote for Emmie by clicking here.