Jackson Harvell wins the 2026 Future Chefs Challenge at Orin C. Smith Elementary School

Third grader Jackson Harvell won the 2026 Sodexo Future Chefs National Challenge at Orin C. Smith Elementary School in Chehalis on Wednesday, March 18.

Harvell won the competition with his “French Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.”

Runner-up was Kalyse Dodd with her tacos she named “Best Mexican Thing I’ve Tried In My Eleven Years of Life.”

Third place winner was Frankie Judd with her “Tropical Banana Bars.”

Also competing were Kenna DeHaven, with her “Hungarian Savory Pasta Dish”; Ava Carlson, with “Ava’s 30 minute Chicken Alfredo”; Avery Mordick, with “Mexi Taco Waffles”; Madaline Conrad, with “Zesty Avocado Nacho Fries”; and Ellie Schaefer, with her “Evergreen Huckleberry Lemon Cake.”