Dozens of students from across the Lake Washington School District gathered for a culinary competition on Jan. 7 at Lake Washington High School in Kirkland.

While the high school competition drew only two teams, one of which stayed home with the flu, the middle school competition drew 23 teams of two.

“It’s crazy, but in a good way,” Lake Washington High culinary teacher Mary Clarke said.

The dish: pasta primavera, a relatively simple but elegant vegetarian pasta classic. Tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, onion, cabbage, fresh basil, olive oil — the works.

“[The middle school teams] are given a recipe, then judged on safety, sanitation, ‘nice skills,’ cooking technique and an ability to follow a recipe,” Clarke said. “The last one is huge, the finished product. Is it well-seasoned and cooked correctly?”

Teams are given 45 minutes with a recipe they know well in advance — “so they can practice,” Clarke said.

Teams from Inglewood Middle School in Sammamish took first and third, while a team from Kirkland’s Finn Hill Middle School took second. The winning pair was comprised of Inglewood students Carson Hubbard and Robbie Pudas, while the third-place team was Eitan Moursalinov and Daniel Chen.

The competition began four years ago, when Clarke arrived after eight years of teaching at Le Cordon Bleau Culinary College in Las Vegas. The competition was started to provide an option for kids interested in culinary arts without having to drive a long distance.

“We thought, ‘well, let’s make it local,’” Clarke said. “This year, participation was off the chart and that was a big part of it. It’s something we do every year, and it isn’t a huge burden. We have to rely on parents to get the kids here.”