A recent government powwow in Utah not only featured local and sustainable fare on the menu, it also employed local teen chefs to help prepare the feast. More than a thousand business leaders convened at The Governor’s Economic Summit, an annual economic development conference, to discuss ways to lure and keep businesses in the “Beehive State.” To feed attendees, teens from culinary classes at Murray and West high schools worked alongside chefs at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Truffles, fuschia, cheeses, and grass-fed lamb and beef were among foods featured on the menu – Utah products, all.

“I didn’t realize how many products actually come from Utah,” Dallon Stewart, a student at Murray High, told the Salt Lake Tribune. “But I do know that when something is local, it’s going to be much fresher.”

Murray High culinary students Kendra Richardson, left, and Ali Parman prep the Utah-made rolls for the Governor's Economic Summit in Salt Lake City. (Photo by SCOTT SOMMERDORF, The Salt Lake Tribune)