In August of 2017 two teens from Lewis County wanted to enter the State Cupcake Wars contest held at the Ky. State Fair. They had no clue what was involved but the teens, Lauren and Taylor, and their agent worked together and met several times preparing cupcakes so they could learn how to mix batter and make really good cupcakes to compete. One teen even went to a neighboring county to observe their contest. They competed at the state contest and received a blue ribbon. After the contest they continued learning cooking and baking skills through the Culinary Club. The culinary club teaches cooking skills but it also teaches leadership skills like teamwork and communication skills. So in the spring with the knowledge they had gained through participating in the Cupcake Wars contest and the culinary club, they helped plan and conduct the first every Cupcake Wars in Lewis County. The plan was to have 8 teams sign up and compete. When signups started, eight teams signed up within two days. Within four days 16 teams with 2-3 members were signed up and another day was added for a second contest. In total there were 34 participants in both contest.

The contest was conducted at the Lewis County Extension Office. 4-H Council members were recruited to help with the contest. There were 10 recipes to choose from and each team chose which recipe they wanted to use. All the recipes and supplies were provided by the Extension Office so each team started at the same level. The contest consisted of 2 rounds. The teams would bake their cupcakes and decorate them and then they were judged. The judges met with each team and the team explained the process they used to make their cupcakes. The team would leave and the judges would taste the cupcakes and score them. They would then meet with the team again and tell them how they could improve their cupcakes. The second round the teams could use the same recipe or change. Very few teams changed recipes but some did. All teams improved their cupcakes on the second round. Everyone that participated had a really good time and wanted to do it again.

 Lauren and Taylor used the knowledge and leadership skills they had gained to help put the contest together and to serve as judges. They were able to tell each team what they needed to do to improve their cupcakes. In August of 2018 the two teens entered the State 4-H Cupcake Wars event again at the State Fair. They got together and practiced their recipe before the contest and on the day of the contest they used the skills learned through the 4-H Culinary Club and through their participation in Cupcake Wars at the state and county level. They won Reserve Champion. During the one year period they learn to make cupcakes, through leadership skills learned they helped put on two Cupcake Wars events in the county to serve 34 youth, and increased their baking/cooking skill so when they competed at the State Cupcake Wars event in 2018 they won reserve champion. They will be able to use the skills of baking, organizing and leadership skills that they learned for the rest of their lives.