SURREY - Presenting a politician with a culinary creation is something many chefs may never have the honour of doing.

On March 13, five of Surrey's fledgling gourmands will have a chance to do just that.

With the help of Greg Chang, creator of SuperChefs Entertainment Inc., the five kids will be serving dessert to Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and others at the annual State of the City address at the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel next Tuesday.

The group of young chefs, age eight to 11, will get a taste of what the real world of cooking is all about. They will have a chance to be in the kitchen helping staff plate and prepare dishes for the 300 attendees.

"The kids help out the kitchen staff, they get into a professional kind of environment," said Chang, whose company works to teach kids about healthy eating and cooking.

Having the kids help out at the event is part of a growing relationship Chang and his company have with the City of Surrey.

"The mayor has been really supportive of our program," he said. "She organized a meeting with the city planner and Surrey school board, who we are working toward doing some programming with us."

Since starting SuperChefs nine years ago, Chang has worked to educate and engage kids through workshops and at events like Surrey's Fusion Festival, where kids teach kids about cooking through demonstrations and hands-on experiences.

"(Our goal) is for the kids to get a sense of confidence in their cooking skills because what that does is it empowers them that they can cook their own food and know what's healthy rather than going to fast food places," he said.

One of Chang's motivations is seeing the lifestyle improvement for the kids. One of his participants was able to lose 30 pounds in one year and now plays on several sports teams.

"I keep in touch with his mom and she says it's changed his life, he loves it, the program has been great for him, and that's what we are hoping to continue," said Chang, who operates Surrey Place Dental Group at Central City Shopping Centre.

While some of the kids are serving Watts on Tuesday, Chang will be taking another group to spread the message of healthy eating for kids on a global scale. The Surrey-born SuperChefs will be presenting to a crowd of more than 700 executives of the North American Food and Beverage Division of Starwood Hotels in Denver, Colorado.

"This is kind of like the model of what other SuperChefs programs could be," said Chang.

For more information on SuperChefs, visit www.superchefs.tv.

Watts' State of the City address, hosted by Surrey Board of Trade and other local business organizations, starts at noon Tuesday, March 13 at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, 15269 104th Ave., Surrey. The fee is $65 per person, or $650 for a table of 10. For event info, call 604-581-7130 or visit www.businessinsurrey.com.