The UNCLE BEN’S® Brand, the number-one selling brand of rice in the United States, named Cai Killings of Pembroke Pines, one of five grand prize winners of the Ben’s Beginners™ Cooking Contest. The nationwide contest encourages children to make healthier meal choices by getting them interested in cooking at an early age.

As one of 25 finalists selected from hundreds of entrants in grades Kindergarten through eighth, Cai was awarded with a $30,000 school cafeteria makeover, a $15,000 cash prize and a hometown celebration at Franklin Academy with New York-based celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson. Entrants submitted videos of themselves and their families preparing a rice-based dish and discussing their experience cooking together as part of the third annual cooking contest.

“We’re so excited to have been chosen,” said Shavon Killings, Cai’s mother. “Cai is an aspiring chef and he jumps at every opportunity to help out in the kitchen.”

For more information on the contest, kid-friendly cooking tips and the winning recipes, visit www.unclebens.com.