Pepper Festival seeks kid chefs for spicy cooking challenge

Abundance NC's 10th annual Pepper Festival in Chapel Hill, one of the largest chef competitions in the state, is looking for some kid chefs to compete in its Spicy Kid Chef Competition.

The festival celebrates local food and southern culture and challenges about 50 of the state's top chefs to create one-of-a-kind recipes, from pepper donuts to pepper drinks, using one secret ingredient: the locally bred and grown North Carolina pepper, according to the festival's website. This year, the festival is hosting a kid chef competition for kids in fourth to seventh grade, who love to cook, bake or play in the kitchen.

Kid chefs will be challenged to prepare their best pepper-inspired dish featuring a North Carolina pepper. Children and families will be given five examples of simple recipes for inspiration, such as salsa, pepper pimento cheese and tacos. However, children may choose any recipe they wish to enter. They may use existing recipes but must add at least one element that makes this recipe distinct, different and their own.