Jasper Elementary Fifth Grader Luana Vaal Wins Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge

Luana Vaal, a fifth grader at Jasper Elementary School, won the 2026 Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge Greater Jasper Schools District-Wide Finals on March 11, taking the top spot with a recipe she titled "Crust and Crumb." Her win advances her entry into consideration alongside other district champions for five regional finalist awards, with regional winners later competing for one of five national finalist spots decided through public voting at us.sodexo.com.

Luana competed against six fellow JES fifth graders: Kelly Argota, Charlotte Foster, Perrin Spond, Cassidee Herbig, Adeline Harper, and Jaxon Bridgewater. The seven finalists prepared and presented their dishes in the school's cafeteria kitchen, where a panel of three Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools administrators scored each entry on originality, taste, kid-friendliness, and use of healthy ingredients. Assistant Superintendent Ryan Erny, JES Principal Audra Jahn, and Assistant Director of Special Education Tammy Hurm served as judges.

The afternoon moved quickly. Opening remarks began at 3:15 p.m., cooking started at 3:30 p.m., and students presented finished plates at 5 p.m. before the panel began deliberating. Winners were announced around 5:30 p.m.

Not every moment in the cafeteria kitchen unfolded smoothly. Cassidee Herbig, who was sauteing her chicken ramen bowl, dramatically declared "I am being sabotaged" when her assistant began adding canned chicken to the pan. Catching the smell, Cassidee stopped the process: "No, no, no, wait. That smells like catfood." Adeline Harper, meanwhile, cracked an egg for her Moco Loco recipe, while Kelly Argota presented her family recipe for Flan Cubano with a flourish described as a "tadaa" moment in the cafeteria.

Timothy Stoner, Sodexo General Manager for Greater Jasper Consolidated Schools, credited the students' sophisticated expectations to a generation raised on food television. "The kids that we serve right now in our schools have grown up on Iron Chef, Cutthroat Kitchen, Alton Brown," Stoner said. "They know what good food looks like and tastes like, and that's what we have to provide them."

The Future Chefs Challenge, now in its 16th year nationally, is designed to encourage students to explore healthy food choices while building creativity and confidence in the kitchen. The Dubois County Free Press noted this was the third year the competition has been held at JES, with participation growing steadily as student interest in culinary arts has increased. The program spans a network of more than 1,400 Sodexo-served school sites across 30 states.

Whether Luana's "Crust and Crumb" advances to the regional stage will depend on how it measures up against district winners from across that field of competing schools. If she earns a regional finalist spot, a national title would ultimately come down to the public's vote.