By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

A SIXTH grader from Mt. Carmel School won the “Cook a Rainbow” challenge that highlighted the sustainable living festival held by the Division of Environmental Quality on Saturday.
Six individuals participated in the cooking contest for non-professionals.
Mt. Carmel’s Austin T. Deleon Guerrero won the $300 first prize for his fish escabeche.
Second placer Jayda Raphand won $200 for his chicken dish, while Beth Demapan won the third prize of $100 for her crispy taco.
Besides taste, the criteria included creative presentation, texture, use of fresh local ingredients and originality.
DEQ spokeswoman Reina Camacho said the contestants were to cook a dish that had at least five of the rainbow colors.
The other participants in the cooking challenge were Dr. Daniel Lamar, Jazmine Raphand and Varsha Nandwani.
During the festival, DEQ handed awards to the winners of the theme, logo, essay and poem contests, and certificates of appreciation for adopt-a-beach organizations and environmental expo exhibitors.
A Mt. Carmel School eighth grader, Anthony Sablan, won first place in the theme contest; Grace Christian Adademy’s 11th grader Charis Lopez topped the logo contest; Sinapalo Elementary School fourth grader Amelia Joyce Atalig Quitugua won first prize for her poem; and Marianas Baptist Academy 11th grader Nicole Castro wrote the best essay.