Dusty Dollins, left, and Spencer Riley, 4-H members from Jackson County, Oklahoma, won the 2014 Great American Seafood Cook-Off 4-H Edition on Aug. 3 in New Orleans. (Photo by Rick Bogren)

Dusty Dollins, left, and Spencer Riley, 4-H members from Jackson County, Oklahoma, plate their winning dish at the 2014 Great American Seafood Cook-Off 4-H Edition on Aug. 3 in New Orleans. (Photo by Rick Bogren)

News Release Distributed 08/05/14

NEW ORLEANS, La. – A team of young chefs from Oklahoma captured top honors in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off 4-H Edition on Sunday, Aug. 3.

The 4-H team of Dusty Dollins and Spencer Riley from Jackson County, Oklahoma, had the winning recipe of Southwest Okie Catfish.

Second place went to Britney Broussard, Anne Catherine LeBlanc and Victoria Frederick of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. Third place finishers were Katie Gilbert, Claire Gilbert and Lacey Morris from Tom Green County, Texas, and fourth place went to Mollie Elliott, Baley Freeman and Lily Webb from Saline County, Arkansas.

Each team was given one hour to prepare their dish during the competition. They were required to present a dish using American seafood.

The 4-H competition is patterned after and conducted in the same venue as the Great American Seafood Cook-Off , which pits professional chefs from across the United States in competition to prepare their best dish using domestic seafood products.

The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board holds the event annually in New Orleans through a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In keeping with the National 4-H Healthy Living initiatives, the rules required each dish to be less than 750 calories per serving, said Quincy Cheek, who coordinated the program for Louisiana 4-H, the host organization.

In addition to cooking, each team was required to present their plates to the judges and describe the ingredients and the preparation techniques.

Judges included Fiona James, marketing manager for Piccadilly Corp.; Katherine Duca with the National 4-H Council; Griffin Gonzalez with the National 4-H Council and Joanne Zaritsky with the Gulf & South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation.

In addition to Louisiana 4-H, sponsors included the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and Piccadilly Corp.

The winning team received a $1,000 cash award from Piccadilly, and each team was given $500 by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board to cover expenses of participating in the competition.