When Life Hands You Winter: Make Chowder!

By Sandy Vondrasek

If you are looking for some comfort food, head on down to the "Hanover" Food Coop Store at its Route 120 store in Centerra Park in Lebanon, N.H. tomorrow, Friday, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

It's the Food Coop's third annual "Chowder Challenge," and young chefs from the culinary program at Randolph Technical Career Center will be one of three or four programs competing in the challenge.

The RTCC kids are also defending champions, as their chowders won the first two challenges.

Judges are shoppers, who get to sample the student chowders and vote for their favorites.

According to Gerry Sullivan, instructor at the RTCC culinary program, RTCC won last year with "Mexican corn and chicken chowder," garnished with lime, cilantro, and crème fraise. The first year, the students' New England clam chowder took first honors.

This year, the RTCC kids are whipping up a sweet potato and corn chowder with crumbled cornbread, crumbled bacon, and chives as the garnish.

"Our garnishes are a little extra touch that help us win," Chef Sullivan said.

Allan Reetz, communications director at the member-owned food cooperative, said the co-op stages the challenge as a way to highlight the culinary programs at various regional tech centers.

Each group sets up its own serving area, and students have a chance to interact with customers, Reetz said. It's a nice bit of public recognition for the students, he said.

Each year, the winner of the Chowder Challenge takes home a $100 scholarship, to be awarded to a culinary student chosen by the school.

Reetz noted that "education, training, and information," are one of the "guiding principles" of cooperatives.

The Food Coop Store in Hanover, which opened its Lebanon store several years ago, is now the oldest consumer-owned food cooperative in the nation, Reetz said. The stores are second in terms of sales, which total more than $60 million annually.