Room 26 morphed into Kitchen Stadium from Iron Chef as foods students did battle on the stove and in the frying pan. The competition, held Dec. 8 and 9, was to see which group, or "kitchen," from each period could make the tastiest and most aesthetic dish to please the judges.

Organized by home economics teacher Cheryl Bede, the competition was designed to incorporate all the skills the students have learned this year. Bede explained where she got the inspiration.

"The students gave me the idea because they love to watch the show (Iron Chef), and they decided to have a competition of their own," she said. "I think it challenged them to do things they normally wouldn't have done and to stretch their abilities. That is really the fun of foods."

Students were graded on a 50-point scale, including appearance, taste, texture, temperature, combination of ingredients, using fruits and vegetables, uniqueness and difficulty, as well as the usual grading standards for foods labs. The only required ingredient was chicken. Teachers volunteered to judge.

The winning dishes included Pecan Chicken, Lemon Chicken with vegetable stir fry, Chicken Cordon Bleu and Polynesian Chicken Satay. The winners received a certificate made by the art department and a gift certificate to Wendy's.

Bede was intrigued by the different opinions of the judges.

"It was hard to pick winners because everyone did so well," Bede said. "The judges all gave different rulings. Sometimes they would each pick totally different kitchens. The dissensions were interesting."

Senior Kyle Nothnagel was involved in third period's competition.

"My group made Lemon Chicken from Betty Crocker," Nothnagel said. "We fought many greasy battles and suffered a few burns along the way, but we came out clean in the end. Competing with the other groups gave us more incentive to do well, because we were making the food for more than just a grade."

History teacher Jason Anderson served as a judge.

"I was a chef for four years at the College of Wooster Inn," he said. "All the food had very different tastes, and I looked a lot for presentation."