McLean County is a small rural farming community in Western Kentucky. In 2015, McLean County was ranked 50^th in the state for obesity rates in Kentucky (KentuckyHealthFacts.org). Since that date, the county has lost two of the three grocery stores; creating a food dessert in most areas in the community. Master Chef was created as an after school program for middle school students focusing on educating youth on nutrition, healthy lifestyles, and food safety. This program has been implemented for two consecutive school years in the FCS Classroom at the middle school. Each school year, six after school sessions, three sessions per semester, were provided in the empty FCS classroom at the middle school. Each class provides students with the opportunity to learn from hands-on experiences about food and kitchen safety, cooking various recipes they can duplicate at home, and nutrition. The main goal of the program is to educate children and assist them in developing basic knowledge and life skills to use when not in school and alongside their families to improve overall health and nutrition. Furthermore, by collaborating with the 8^th grade middle school science teacher; the children were able to apply knowledge learned inside. Mrs. Hicks at the middle school used measuring labs inside her classroom to allow the kids to convert measurements to make pumpkin pie in a bag. 

After one school year of Master Chef, 26 children had attended the after school program. The children were asked to self-evaluate by a checklist provided with the Teen Cuisine Curriculum. Furthermore, the checklist provided me with an opportunity to observe the skills learned during the classes. After the self-evaluation and observation, 98% of participants were able to complete the entire check list for: How to read a recipe, measuring skills, using proper knife skills, cooking skills, identify cooking equipment and cleaning skills. Furthermore, the children were challenged to take recipes used during the first semester of the program and make something at home for their families over the Christmas break. During and after the beak, 18 of the 20 brought in or posted photos on social media of the recipes they made for their families. On a larger scale there has been an increase in the number of youth attending the after school 4-H Cooking Club and summer Super Star Chef Camp from the middle school.  Mrs. Hicks reported that one hundred and ten 8^th grade students completed the measuring lab successfully by demonstrating the ability to convert measurements and making the pumpkin pie in a bag. Each student learned how to properly use a wet and dry measuring cup as well as food safety tips.