Miradi Ackler may just be a third grader, but the young chef recently took her Fancy Nancy balsamic bacon grilled cheese sandwich to the next level as she competed in the Sodexo National Future Chef championship.
Ackler crafted the sandwich out of bread, mozzarella cheese, pesto and a balsamic honey reduction, which carried her through several stages of competition.
Ackler didn’t win the national competition, but it did expand the Maple Grove Primary School student’s interest in cooking.
“It was very exciting,” said Heather, who is Ackler’s mother. “She originally expressed interest in doing the competition even though she hadn’t done that much cooking before. But I thought it would be a fun experience for her and to encourage another fun hobby that would be useful for her.”
Ackler won a hoverboard as she competed in the local cooking competition, which then moved her onto the regional competition, and later onto nationals.
“I cried,” Heather said as she described how she felt when her daughter was selected for the national championship. “I was very excited for her.”
Heather also enjoys cooking, which led her to inspire her daughter to do the same. The duo often watches the show “Top Chef Junior,” which has also boosted Ackler’s interest in cooking.
“I used to work for Joe’s Place Farms and did their canning and baking, and so I like to make new things in the kitchen,” Heather said. “Miradi hasn’t done a whole lot of cooking, although she loves to try new foods so she’s been pretty adventurous. I like to eat a lot of Thai food and sushi, and she loves that stuff. She kind of dove right in.”
Besides cooking, Heather said Ackler takes part in gymnastics and has an interest in the show “American Ninja Warrior.”
“We haven’t been able to find a local ninja gym, but she’d love to be able to do that, I’m sure,” Heather said.
Heather adopted Ackler from the Democratic Republic of the Congo six years ago. They’ve cooked Congolese food together, like fufu potatoes, which has helped Ackler become familiar with her culture.
Although Ackler isn’t sure if she’ll participate in future cooking competitions she is still set on learning more about cooking.
“One of the things that she won being in first place in the district (competition) was … a cookbook that’s very child friendly,” Heather said. “There’s pictures and all kinds of interesting recipes in it, and she has marked those pages and wants to cook those things now.”
The win has given Ackler “confidence in the kitchen,” her mother said.
“We talked about doing some recipe planning so that her and my other daughter can help plan our menu for the week and learning how to cook other things,” Heather said.
One example of a recipe that stands out to them is “fake cakes,” which are cakes in various shapes like cheeseburgers, sneakers or tacos.
