Grosse Pointe Culinary Kid Vies To Win National Chef Challenge [VIDEO]

GROSSE POINTE (WWJ) - No matter how you slice it, one culinary kid in Grosse Pointe is hoping her healthy sandwich is a cut above the competition.

MaryJane Ware just turned 8-years-old and she's already a celebrated chef -- she won the local and regional rounds, and is now one of five finalists nationwide in the Sodexo Future Chef Challenge.

The challenge engages school districts to encourage kids to compete under a specific theme. This year's theme was healthy sandwiches, and MaryJane's creation is called a Cucumber Boat.

"The ingredients are a cucumber, lettuce, avocado and a can of white albacore tuna," MaryJane told WWJ's Vickie Thomas. "The bacon bits give it a little crunch and they're soy bacon bits, vegetarian bacon bits."

Bree Ware, MaryJane's mom, said her daughter is a natural when it comes to creating unique dishes.

"She's always been in the kitchen, you know, always under foot," Ware said. "I just figured I had to start learning how to take longer to make stuff because she always wanted to help."

Now, MaryJane's sandwich will be on the lunch menu at The Whitney restaurant in downtown Detroit between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

"I'm going to make them completely, all by myself," MaryJane said.

You can help MaryJane win the competition and vote for her sandwich by "liking" her video on YouTube. As of Tuesday morning, MaryJane was in the lead with over 60 votes. Click here to vote.