Eagle Hill's Annual Chopped Challenge

Inside the kitchen, exploring history through culinary creations.

Eagle Hill School recently hosted its annual Chopped Challenge, an exciting and educational event that brings together students, faculty, and plenty of culinary creativity. In this fun competition, participants are given a mystery basket of ingredients and must come up with a dish within 30 minutes.

The event was organized by Ms. Molly Gray with help from the students in her Writing the Past, Writing the Future class. “Three years ago, I started hosting the Chopped Challenge at Eagle Hill,” shared Ms. Gray. “It helps students bring their learning outside the classroom, showcases our faculty’s talent and personality, and is fun for me to watch.”

Each year, students in Ms. Gray’s class design the rubric for the competition, ensuring it remains fresh and engaging and connects the past and present.  This year, the class agreed on a set of criteria: resilience, entertainment, multitasking, cleanliness, presentation, smell, texture, and taste. The students also organized the competition and served as judges, carefully evaluating the contestants’ culinary creations based on these established guidelines.

Each student selected one basket ingredient, exploring its historical background, current popularity, and potential for future sustainability.

Each student selected one basket ingredient, exploring its historical background, current popularity, and potential for future sustainability. They spent weeks researching their chosen ingredients, incorporating their newfound knowledge into the analysis and judging process. For example, Jacob I. ’29 chose hamburger meat as his ingredient and learned how the ancient Romans created a dish called Isicia omentata – a meat patty made with pine nuts, wine, and berries. According to Ms. Gray, this discovery highlighted the rich culinary history behind modern dishes.

The competition featured three brave faculty contestants: Dr. Eric Stone, assistant head of school for student life; Dr. Michael Riendeau, assistant head of school for academic affairs; and Zach Turner, an English teacher at Eagle Hill. The trio took on the challenge, showcasing their culinary talents as they competed for the title of Chopped Champion. As the event unfolded, contestants scrambled to create the most visually appealing and flavorful dishes.

After a spirited competition, Dr. Eric Stone emerged victoriously, reclaiming the title from Dr. Riendeau as the 2025 Chopped Champion.