Student-chefs involved with Kearny High School’s culinary arts program worked against the clock Wednesday to impress judges as part of the first Food War Challenge.

The students in instructor Jessica Barone’s culinary program were tasked with creating their own spin on a risotto dish in one hour.

"Pressure is a part of life,” said Barone. “We have demands placed on us for all different reasons in all different facets of our lives. Being able to function under a reasonable amount of pressure in a familiar environment is a great way to introduce to students the demands of becoming a young professional."

Dishes ranged from balsamic caramelized onion risotto with chicken to "Mary Me Chicken" risotto.

Barone said the overall theme is tricky since it's not something that you can put into the oven and walk away from.

"I think it's a really fun experience for my class to have this," said Luccas Pessoa, a participating student. "This is our first time doing it, but we've had practices before, so I'm confident going into this competition.”

The local, professional judges then entered the equation to test the dishes and rank the top three.

Judge Sarah Guzman said this was extra special because she’s a former student.

"To come into Kearny High today and see what the culinary program has become it's pretty impressive," said Guzman. "They have this whole state-of-the-art equipment set up and it's just really nice, you know."

Judges, like Sarah, who are strangers to the students, then provided constructive feedback.

”Certainly, career-wise, many of our students go on right into the food service industry or they go to CIA or Johnson and Whales," said Flora Encarnacao, the superintendent of schools. "This is good prep for them. This is a good experience for them."

"I'm proud of them for buying in for trusting in me, for trusting in my program and for willing to allow themselves to be vulnerable to receive this kind of feedback from people that they've never worked with before," said Barone.

Ultimately, Team 4 won this week’s competition.