Cayce Elementary student DeZyah Dewitt won the hearts and stomachs of judges in the National Future Chef Challenge this past school year.

The competition was put on by Sodexo, the food provider for Lexington School District Two, and was open for interested elementary students to submit their favorite recipes to the competition.

After winning the competition at the school, district and regional levels, DeZyah then cooked her way to the national competition. Out of the thousands of elementary students from over 200 different school districts that participated, DeZyah took home the title of the national winner for the 2025 Future Chef Competition.

Her award-winning dish? Her famous “Cheeseburger Cupcakes.”

“DeZyah’s specialty is dessert,” her mom, Renata McCormick, said. “When we got the competition guidelines that the entry had to be an entree, she wanted to stay true to her specialty with a unique twist.”

Not only did DeZyah earn the bragging rights of being the national winner, but she also had the opportunity to cook her Cheeseburger Cupcakes with the award-winning chef and restaurateur, Daniela Soto-Innes.

On May 20, DeZyah and Chef Soto-Innes prepared her specialty dish at Cayce Elementary School with her peers and family in attendance.

In addition to having an in-kitchen culinary experience with the award-winning chef, Sodexo will also be adding DeZyah’s Cheeseburger Cupcakes to their global menu as a part of their food service.

While she has been named this year's grand winner for the National Future Chef Challenge, DeZyah is no stranger to being in the kitchen and comes from a long line of cooks.

“Her great-grandmother was a chef for Dillion County Schools, and I own a catering company,” McCormick told the Chronicle. “She has been cooking with me ever since she was five years old. We are always in the kitchen together.”

McCormick also shared that her junior chef helps with her different events through her catering company, Nata’s Catering.

“I really enjoy making desserts, especially banana pudding and peach cobbler,” DeZyah said. “I love when people enjoy my creations.”

It’s more than making tasty dishes for this rising 4th grader. DeZyah shares her heart with others by making them feel special. Shortly after signing up for the cooking competition, DeZyah learned that her friend also had signed up to compete in this year's challenge.

She recalls initially feeling nervous about competing against her friend, but the two promised to support each other no matter the outcome. While DeZyah’s Cheeseburger Cupcakes ultimately won the contest, she made sure her friend’s efforts and talents were still recognized.

When the time came for DeZyah to go in front of the school and cook with the professional chef, she wanted to share the experience with her friend by asking her to come up on stage for a photo to commemorate their experience together.

“There was not a dry eye in the room when she asked the event staff if her friend could come up and take a picture with the chef, too,” McCormick said. “It was so special that DeZyah remembered her friend and wanted her to be included in that special moment too...it’s so much more than cooking for her, it’s her heart behind it.”

DeZyah and her mom will spend their summer crafting new recipes and preparing for next year’s competition.

This story has been updated with the following correction: On May 20, DeZyah and Chef Soto-Innes prepared her specialty dish at Cayce Elementary School-- not the Lexington Two Community Education Center-- with her peers and family in attendance.