Nazareth Area Middle School Teacher to Participate in Sushi Scholar Competition

Throughout March and April, Kome, an Asian restaurant in the Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley, will host a series of cooking competitions for local schools with hopes to raise money for the school’s individual causes.

Contestants develop an appetizer, which guests vote on based on specific criteria. The winner takes home 15 percent of the proceeds from the event.

On March 22, Kristen DeMille, a family and consumer sciences teacher at , will participate in the competition. Her challenger, Kelly Lesh, an English teacher from Whitehall, will also create a unique dish with hopes of winning the event.

DeMille said the sushi roll she developed, with the help of the head chef at Kome, is a take on one of her favorite appetizers - coconut shrimp. It will contain coconut, shrimp tempura, cilantro, mango and lime.

Any winnings will be put toward the “Best Buddies Club” at NAMS. The club is an organization at the whose main goal is to create friendships between students with special needs and their classmates.

“I established the club with my co-advisor, Danika Wall, three years ago. We saw a need for more inclusive activities for students with special needs and developed the club idea from there," DeMille explained. "It spreads the message of inclusion and acceptance of people's differences. Winning the money from the sushi scholar competition would help fund the club's activities and allow us to continue the club in the years to come."

At the end of the year, DeMille said she is planning to take all of the students to an Iron Pigs game so they can hang out with their buddies.

DeMille and Lesh are two of six finalists participating in the competition.

In an earlier battle, Diana Schantz, principal at Fred J. Jaindl Elementary School from the Parkland School District, and Damian Goodman, a Jaindl fifth-grade teacher, challenger Mark Lesh, a third-grade teacher at Miller Heights Elementary School from the Bethlehem Area School District.

Each school’s victory will advance them to the championship round, which will be held at Kome on April 26.

This is the second year for the competition at Kome. Last year, a group of surgeons vied for the title of “Sushi Surgeon,” raising $10,000 through profits from the sales, which were donated to the Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Reservations are being accepted for the evening of March 22 between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are recommended.