The Iron Skillet^® Cook Off Junior (ISCO Jr.), is a youth version of World Cares Center’s (WCC) annual fundraiser, the Iron Skillet^® Cook Off, and is a culinary competition in collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. All participants receive a cooking and kitchen safety workshop facilitated by WCC’s Program Manager. This comprehensive training addresses all steps of the cooking process from hand washing to food preparation to safe cleanup practices. Students will emerge as confident chefs ready to safely prepare healthy food for the whole family.

Six groups of students compete for the title each year. Each group represents a Parks Department afterschool program in Brooklyn. The students are responsible for creating their own recipes beforehand and cooking their meal with a firefighter chef on the day of the event. The dishes are judged on creativity, taste, and originality by a celebrity panel.

4th Annual ISCO Jr. – A Great Sweet Success!

Iron Skillet^® Cook Off (ISCO) Jr. took place on Friday, April 13, 2012 at Kingsborough Community College in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

WCC, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, orchestrated the grand event. Grouped in teams led by firefighter chefs, 60 youth representing recreation centers across Brooklyn participated and prepared their recipes for a panel of judges. The theme of this year’s Cook Off Jr. was “Just Desserts!” where the creativity of the participants went off the charts. For the last two years, the winning team had been from Sunset Park Recreation Center in Brooklyn, led by Firefighter John Sierp. This year, the winner was Red Hook Recreation Center and their delicious Red Velvet cheesecake, led by Firefighter Steve Brunner.

For more information on how to support the Iron Skillet^® Cook Off Jr. 2013, please contact Claudia Fitzpatrick at 212-563-7570 or cfitzpatrick@worldcares.org.