- November 11, 2025
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Some children like playing video games, while some like playing sports. Others like reading, and some like arts and crafts.
Atwater Bay Elementary Lincoln Emery, 11, and Independence Elementary Julia Merritt, 10, have a passion for cooking.
Both trace their love of the kitchen all the way back to when they were toddlers. As they watched their mothers and family members cook, they grew curious about it and started helping in the kitchen.
Because of their passion for cooking, they applied to the Florida Future Chef Competition hosted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Tampa and placed second and third.
They are the first students from Orange County to rank in the top three in the competition.
“I learned how to cook from mostly my family,” Lincoln said. “But also from watching other videos of people cooking. I just love cooking because I love experimenting in the kitchen.”
While he likes experimenting in the kitchen, Julia likes the scientific aspect of cooking.
“I always like the chemical reactions that (happen) when you bake things,” she said. “I’m a very big science person.”
Both found out about the competition through social media and decided to apply.
To enter the competition, they submitted videos of them cooking their favorite dishes and competed against 130 other competitors across the state before being selected as finalists.
“I had a really great time, (and) it’s an experience I can never forget,” Lincoln said about the competition.
They had two days to prepare the food and present their dishes to judges.
With an island theme in mind, Lincoln went with a shrimp bowl, which had coconut lime cilantro rice with a pineapple and cucumber salsa, garlic-buttered jumbo shrimp, green onion curls for garnish and sauce on the side.
“I just love flavors like that,” he said.
Julia cooked rice noodles dyed purple with cabbage. Her dish consisted of peppers, roasted miso- blazed carrot, mango, edamame, cucumber, tofu, shredded cabbage, peanut sauce and a lime to squeeze on top.
“I feel super proud of how she did,” Julia’s mom, Ashley Merritt, said. “We kind of entered this thinking it was just for fun and we weren’t really expecting to get picked.”
Julia placed second and Lincoln third, receiving $3,000 and $2,000, respectively, going toward their college tuition.
“I would love to go to the New York Institute of Culinary Education,” Lincoln said. “That’s the school that I really want to try to go to. And one day, I want to open a restaurant. I would love to make breakfast and stuff on the go. I just love cooking breakfast. That’s my specialty.”
He said he has perfected how to make an omelet and makes one almost every day for himself and his family.
On the other hand, Julia is not sure how to proceed in the future.
She wants to go into the science field and might keep cooking as a hobby.
“I’m still figuring out if I want to go forward toward cooking or stay in the middle,” she said. “I (could) sometimes do it, but not like a business.”
Before competing again, Julia said she would like to practice cooking more at home.
Lincoln was the opposite, saying he’s ready to take on another challenge and competition.
Whether they go on to compete again is unknown, but they both walked away with lessons they will carry with them forever.
They learned about teamwork, deadlines and appreciation for opportunities.
More than that, they learned safety guidelines to follow in the kitchen and tips and tricks to become more efficient.
“I learned to just keep everything organized,” Julia said. “Make sure everything is within your reach. Have a group for the grains or, if you’re baking, dry ingredients on one side, wet ingredients on the other and measuring tools in front of you.”
Lincoln learned that different knives have different uses and now is going to take that into consideration when cooking.
