Pinellas County school cooks are spicing things up in the kitchen.

Four teams of cooks competed in the annual Pinellas School Nutrition Association competition, Chomped. From spicy Indian dishes to popcorn on salads, lunchtime is changing.

Faola Collins is a cook trainee at Dunedin High School and says she never thought she’d be the lunch lady, but says it’s different now.

"The food is very good, a lot of choices, Collins said. "The food is delicious, delicious. We work with the spices."

The Chomped cooking competition took place at the Ronald McDonald House in St. Petersburg. PSNA supports the charity, and chefs often cook for families.

Families and patients got quite a treat Friday.

School cooks had limited time to create a vegetarian dish using only certain ingredients. Teams were given mystery baskets that ended up containing fruits, vegetables, onions and strawberries. Teams could also grab from the pantry.

What they created was not what you would typically see on a school lunch menu. Chefs served up jasmine rice, southwestern black bean veggie burgers with raspberry chipotle sauce, penne pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic scampi sauce and bruchetta and delicious desserts like a trifle and strawberry yogurt drink.

The macaroni and cheese and veggie burgers won top prize, meaning those meals will be featured on the school lunch menu.