Twenty-fifth annual Clever Cooks Contest encourages young chefs to get creative

Pigeon Poop, Green Eggs with Chocolate-Covered Bacon and Royal Bean Parfait were just a few of the edible choices Saturday at Clever Cooks Contest XXV at the Albany Public Library.

Kids of any age were invited to enter the contest, and children's librarian Scott Keeney said entries this year tied for second-most ever at 38.

"My favorite thing is how many families stay and watch the judges," he said. "You have to keep a stone face — you can't do any Paula Abdul emotional stuff."

Judges this year included Matt Bennett of Sybaris and Clemenza's restaurants, as well as Roz and Allison Keeney, Scott's wife and daughter.

Allison, 23, remembers competing in Clever Cooks when she was little — she even won a few times.

Scott Keeney said he usually has cooking teachers from Albany schools judge, but many were unavailable this year because the contest fell during spring break.

Participants received a bookmark and a used book for participating. Winners took home new cookbooks from Waldenbooks.

Food was judged on a 20-point scale with appearance, flavor, creativity and difficulty as factors.

Duane and Monica Shaw of Corvallis cheered on daughter Melanie, 9, and son Elijah, 7, while 2-year-old daughter Maci watched.

Melanie thought it would be fun use fancy cups for her taco-inspired dish. Royal Bean Parfait mixes black beans, corn, tomatoes, olives, pinto beans, kidney beans and taco seasonings in a wineglass with cheese and an avocado slice for garnish. Use tortilla chips to eat it.

Elijah made a Technicolor pudding cake with layers of orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

He said he wanted to do something colorful, so the family looked on the computer for recipes and found Rainbow Cake.

"The first rainbow meant God would never flood the earth again," Elijah said.

Cody Wright, 15, of Lebanon paired green eggs and chocolate-covered bacon. His side of Cody's Toast is crunchy peanut butter with brown sugar over bread. Broil until the sugar crystallizes.

"I just try everything together," he said.

Mom Jeanie Wright had a restaurant in Mexico for 20 years, so Cody has been around cooking since he was very young.

"He's a natural," she said.

When asked by an audience member, organizer Scott Keeney offered this tip to help an entry stand out: Don't do a dessert.

For some reason kids tend to enter pies, cakes and cookies, so entrees are especially welcome.

One mother asked if beverages could be entered. Keeney responded yes, absolutely.

If you're still wondering about the Pigeon Poop, it's the Cox family's entry: a sweet, crunchy mix of kids' cereals, marshmallows, pretzel sticks and white chocolate.