PELHAM – Riverchase Middle School students had an impressive showing at the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America’s Shelby County Cook-Off held at the University of Montevallo on Feb. 17.

Prior to the Feb. 17 competition, RMS students competed in a school-level cook-off. The three first place winners of the school-level competition went on to compete in the countywide cook-off.

RMS seventh-grader Avery Fuller placed first in the beef category with her dish, Lissy’s Baby Bleu Salad, which consisted of skirt steak atop spinach with strawberries, mandarin oranges, bleu cheese crumbles and pecans.

Fuller also placed second in the dairy dessert category with her dulce de leche cheesecake recipe. Seventh-grader Ansley Cotton placed first in the poultry category with grilled Mexican chicken served on a bed of rice, complete with avocado and chopped tomatoes and onions.

Fuller and Cotton competed against students from middle schools throughout Shelby County.

“It’s really exciting because they’re both in the seventh grade and they were competing against some eighth graders,” Simpson said. “I’m really proud of them and the work they put in.”

Family and Consumer Science teacher Pam Simpson said her students began finalizing their recipes and preparing for the competition about a month in advance.

RMS will also compete in the upcoming Alabama Cattleman’s Association Junior and Senior High School Beef Cook-off in April at Carver High School in Montgomery.