MSAD 60 nutrition staff and a Noble High School student chef placed first in the Maine Farm to School Cook Off and are adding their winning recipes to district lunch menus, School Nutrition Manager David Vargas told the board.

Vargas said he and student Andre Roy entered the state competition after winning a regional event and brought home the state trophy on April 17. The contest required teams to use farm‑fresh products provided by the state; this year the required ingredients included eggs for breakfast and fish for lunch, along with USDA commodity items.

Vargas described the breakfast entry as a USDA pancake bake layered with local sausage, bacon and eggs, topped with peaches and hollandaise. For lunch the team served fish tacos using local fish with corn tortillas, corn and mango salsa and a mango mousse — dishes Vargas said are already appearing on elementary and middle/high school menus on Tuesdays.

Vargas credited culinary arts students and staff at Noble High School for help and said the district has begun serving the recipes in cafeterias. He said Andre, a culinary intern who hopes to be a chef, helped develop the recipes and will be eligible to compete again next year.

The board congratulated the team. Vargas said the district will continue to enter the competition and look for ways to incorporate local products into school meals.

Clarifying details from the meeting: required Farm to School ingredients this year included eggs for breakfast and fish for lunch provided by the state program; the breakfast dish is a pancake bake with local sausage, bacon and eggs and peach topping; the lunch dish is fish tacos with local fish, corn and mango salsa and mango mousse; items will appear on menus at the middle and high schools on Tuesdays.