SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Spanish Fort Middle School hosted the Baldwin County Chocolate Cook-Off, where middle- and high-school students competed for the best chocolate dish in the county.

Courtney Weeks, a seventh-grader at Daphne Middle School, came in first place for the middle-school division with her  Mississippi mud cake.

Weeks said she found her winning recipe after flipping through a cookbook.

“I felt very excited,” she said of her win. “I was happy and surprised.”

 Weeks said she just began cooking last year and loves it, especially baking.

Spanish Fort High School senior Brittani Hoffman won first place for the high school division with her signature cheesecake. Hoffman was absent at the cook-off.

Other cook-off winners included Central Baldwin Middle School eighth-grader Leah Lowery’s  second-place win with her cream cheese delights and Spanish Fort Middle School seventh-grader Brittany Smith’s third-place win with death by chocolate.

Second place for the high-school division went to Katlyn Webb, a ninth-grader at Gulf Shores High School, with her ice cream sandwich dessert; Foley High School senior Bianca Scott’s   Mississippi mud cake won her third place.Winners received chocolate-related gifts purchased by organizers.

Other participating schools included Fairhope Middle, Elberta Middle, Bay Minette Middle and Summerdale Middle School.

Ten entries—three for high school and seven for middle school—were submitted.

There are no sponsors for the Chocolate Cook-Off like there were for the beef and sweet potato cook-offs. Spanish Fort Middle School family and consumer science teacher Dianne Bernasconi said they seek sponsors for next year so winners can win better prizes.

While judges tallied their scores, Fairhope Middle School family and consumer science teacher Cyndie Wilkins demonstrated how to make chocolate pralines and gave a history lesson on chocolate.

Attendees learned that certain chocolates are actually good for you.

Dark chocolate, for instance, is rich in antioxidants and contains flavonoids that help lower the risk of lung and prostate cancers and type-2 diabetes. Dark chocolate  is said to also provide temporary mood boosts, Wilkins said.

Chocolate has been dated back to the New World and Europe since the mid 1500s. It is made from the seeds of the cacao tree, according to www.chocolate.org.

Bernasconi said she enjoyed that Spanish Fort Middle School could host the cook-off first the first time.

“It went great,” Bernasconi said. “My favorite movie is “Chocolat,” so it is fitting that I hosted this event.”