Mount Hebron Principal Scott Ruehl, who was one of the most animated contestants, split his time cooking, pumping up the crowd and doing some playful trash-talking with fellow principal and competitor Pat Saunderson from Marriotts Ridge.
"I still have all 10 fingers!" Ruehl exclaimed to the crowd after he finished dicing zucchini for his team's vegetable pizza appetizer.
Saunderson acknowledged that he was out of his element.
"My kids don't let me near the microwave," he said. "They want to take pictures. They don't think this is possible. This is a great competition."
Meanwhile, Leonard and her teammates - seniors and advanced culinary students Joni Pohutsky and Julia Nicholson - were putting the finishing touches on their food.
"We're all about appearances," Leonard said with a laugh, as she cut the steak into even strips and plated it around a red pepper sauce with honey and a peppercorn and herb sauce. The team also made roasted peaches topped with brown sugar, butter and cookie crumbs. "The food looks good. We look good."
Atholton's food also tasted good, according to the judges. The school won first-place ribbons for taste, presentation and use of produce. The school also won the overall prize.
"She helped us a lot," Pohutsky, 16, said about Leonard.
Nicholson, added at the last minute, said she was able to make the quick transition because of the ingredients.
"It was easy to incorporate them," she said. "They were really fresh."
