The Peach Festival Cook-off crowned its winners for 2016 during the event held at the Senior Connection on Saturday.

The recipes were judged and the top three participants were named from both the adult and youth divisions.

Alli Kate Calhoun won first place in the youth division with a peach layer dessert, while Rachael Glasscock’s peaches and cream pie finished second and Abbi Calhoun wrapped up third place with a “no bake” peach tart.

“I’m excited for both of them,” said Sherri Calhoun, Alli Kate’s mother. “We try to eat dinner at home together even when it may get busy.”

This was not Calhoun’s first time in the competition for 10-year-old who has been cooking for about the past four

years and finished second at last year’s contest.

“It was just a shock,” Alli Kate Calhoun said.

Sarah Saunders of Jemison won the adult portion of the event with a peach upside-down bundt cake.

“I grew up as a preacher’s daughter with a large family, so you always cooked,” Saunders said. “I had a mother that saw to it that we learned early on.”

According to Saunders, she took home third place two years ago for a similar recipe that was not a bundt style.

Saunders’ recipe won over the taste buds of the judges, just as her dish had at gatherings between family and friends.

“I’ve made a few of them, and it doesn’t seem to last long,” Saunders said.

Saunders credited Burnette’s peaches for providing the true taste of her dish.

“That’s where I always go,” Saunders said.

Patsy Ratliff finished in second place with a peach pie and Madeline Swindle’s strawberry-peach crisp claimed third place.

Hunter Pugh had one of the best vantage points during the cook-off, as a judge alongside Beverly Popwell and Saudra Wilkerson.

“The hardest part was thinking about the recipients and tasting the certain elements in each dish,” Pugh said. “It was definitely hard to pick out of all of them.”

There were several categories that contestants were judged on that included using fresh peaches from Chilton County, appearance, as well as uniqueness and creativity.

The highest factored category was based on the actual taste of the food, which was worth as much as 60 points.

“It all kind of came together for the final outcomes,” Pugh said.

While the judging was taking place, Nathan Wilkerson enlightened the crowd with a cooking demonstration where he made peach brulee with honey crème anglaise.

He has lived in Clanton for the past eight years and graduated from Culinard School at Virginia College and followed it with an internship at Marriott in Hoover and has also worked at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery as a banquet cook and the food and beverage purchasing agent.

The youth division had 10 participants, while four were entered in the adult portion.

“It’s great to see the kids get excited about cooking because they are going to be the ones preparing the meals down the road,” Wilkerson said. “It is important for kids to understand how food works and where it comes from, especially in a farming community such as ours.”

West is searching for ideas how to further spice up the competition. This includes the possibility of expanding the categories for next year’s event other than just youth and adult.

“It showcases our peaches and the cooking talent that we have in Chilton County,” Sherri Calhoun said. “It’s just wonderful.”