Recipe for success in Peabody

PEABODY – She?s only 11 years old, but Janie Wilson?s turkey rice chili recipe earned her and her school a $45,000 national grand prize Tuesday and made the fifth-grader a celebrity among McCarthy Memorial School classmates.To chants of “Janie, Janie, Janie” from students and teachers, she accepted a $30,000 cardboard check on behalf of the school. As one of five Uncle Ben?s Beginners Cooking Contest winners across the nation, Wilson will also receive $15,000 for her family.?I feel amazed,” she said as Mayor Ted Bettencourt proclaimed Janie Wilson Day in her honor.Rice maker Uncle Ben?s parent company, Mars Food North America, has sponsored the contest for three years in part to promote home cooking as a way to strengthen families. Wilson was one of 1,000 young chefs to submit video recipe recordings in the fall to Uncle Ben?s.She said her recipe grew out of a love for chili on top of rice she shares with her younger sister, Jada. Other ingredients include tomato sauce, taco seasoning and dark and light kidney beans.?I really put all of my effort into it,” she said.McCarthy educators and parents pushed to drum up online support for Janie?s recipe after her mother, Julie Crocker-Wilson, told them about her daughter?s submission. School-wide interest in the contest grew into city-wide support for Wilson.?We put it on the website and it snowballed from there,” said McCarthy School Principal Raymond Smoyer.Wilson learned in November she was one of 25 national finalists to be considered for grand prizes, and Mars corporate affairs manager Matt Hurst said her family found out two weeks ago that Wilson had won a grand prize.?She had to keep it a secret,” he said.She shared the stage in the McCarthy cafeteria Tuesday with chef Marcus Samuelsson. The owner of the New York eatery Red Rooster whipped up a rice dish while Bettencourt, state representatives Leah Cole and Theodore Speliotis, and Smoyer took the stage to praise Wilson.Smoyer said Wilson?s youthful success underscores the close relationship between McCarthy teachers and students. “We work hard to work together,” he said.Wilson said the $30,000 she won on her school?s behalf will be well spent on improving the cafeteria. “Some of the things don?t work anymore. I want to get new stuff so we can produce better food,” she said.Wilson?s father, Rulfus, said a Disney World trip tops the list for how his daughter plans to spend some of the $15,000 her family will receive. He said Janie started cooking at the age of 8 by watching adults in their home prepare meals. The Wilsons live on Lowell Street.The other grand prize winners live in Florida, Kansas and Colorado with the fifth and final winner yet to be named.