CONNORVILLE — The soup’s on this Sunday for a fundraiser to help send local students to Disney World for a culinary competition.

A soup dinner moneymaker is set for Jan. 21 at Buckeye Local High School to benefit the Foods 2 class from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Selections include wedding soup, chicken noodle, tomato chicken dumpling, broccoli and cheese, stuffed pepper, loaded potato, chicken gnocchi and vegetable, and patrons may dine in or carry out. Meals include a dinner roll or cornbread while drinks and a cookie are also available.

Teacher Luke Fabry said it was one of many food-based fundraisers to help send his class to Florida this spring for the Cook Around the World Competition. Eight students, including seniors Samantha Ankrom, Kiarra Eastham, Skylar Ebright, Shayleigh Hornyak, Ryder Kinberg-Colabelli, Preston Lindsey and Nyja Short and junior Brennin Takach, are heading to the event at Disney World Epcot in Orlando on April 26-29 and the contest itself is on April 27.

“It is a cooking competition at Disney World that is open to high schools across the world, but it is primarily the United States,” Fabry said. “The soup event is a fundraiser for our competition. We were invited to the competition, and I believe most schools with culinary courses are invited. However, most of the schools at Disney will be career centers but Buckeye Local’s current administration has been extremely helpful with allowing me to create a higher-level culinary class that lets upperclassmen have a two-period course.”

Fabry added that the students were excited to attend while BLHS teachers and a school board member will act as chaperones. According to the event’s website, it allows high school students to compete in a hands-on culinary experience and hear from top colleges and universities about career opportunities in the culinary and hospitality fields. Participants also have a chance to learn and hear from top celebrity chefs.

As part of the competition, the young chefs will choose a random envelope that includes a culture on which to base the dish and receive a protein such as fish, beef, pork or chicken. They will be placed into categories of main dish and entrees and have access to ingredients such as vegetables, fruits and breads, plus they will prepare a menu. Judges include representatives from Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida and Valencia College in Orlando while professional chef Jet Tila is the celebrity mentor. The students will also attend a leadership seminar led by professional chefs, entrepreneurs and chefs who teach at colleges, plus they will go on the Seeds Tour, which is a program that Disney uses to produce fruit, vegetables and fish for their park restaurants and benefit the environment. There will also be free time for the teens to golf and enjoy the parks.

“This will be our very first time and we are unbelievably excited,” Fabry added. “I would like to continue to offer exciting opportunities to future students. I am looking for other trips to take students each year and maybe create three- or four-year rotations. I would also like to thank the administration at each level, the public and truly our teaching staff for the enormous amount of support they have shown my students.

“The students have done an incredible job moving toward our goal (of more than $11,500) with an incredible amount of hard work and dedication. The real-world skills they have gained on this journey are unbelievable. I am amazed every single day with their dedication and am incredibly proud of these students. They are remarkable young people. Once they graduate, I am going to deeply miss them, but I am excited to see where their life journeys take them.”

Other fundraisers have been held, from a pulled pork dinner for the public to baked goods at the school, and more in-school events are being eyed for students and staff. Donations are also being accepted, and anyone interested can send a check payable to the Buckeye Local School District, in care of Luke Fabry, to Buckeye Local High School, 10692 State Route 150, Rayland, OH 43943.