More than 1,200 junior chefs ages nine through 12 answered the call to enter their favorite recipes in the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. Only one winner from each state would be selected to win a trip to the White House and attend the “Kid’s State Dinner” hosted by First Lady Michelle Obama on August 20.

Arla learned that she was a finalist about a month ago but had to wait a couple of extra weeks to learn if she truly won. The judges, that included White House Assistant Chef Sam Kass; Chef Jose Andres; Marshall and Alex Reid, authors of “Portion Size Me;” Epicurious Editor-in-Chief Tanya Steel; and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Education, had a tough time choosing the final winners because of the quality of entries they had received.

On July 24, Arla finally learned that she, indeed, was the winner for the state of Washington with her recipe for salad noodle wraps.

“Your recipe was particularly impressive as it was creative, tasted great, and most importantly, was healthy,” stated Jennifer Goanach with Epicurious.com and Gourmet Live in her congratulatory email to Arla, “so that’s why we picked yours as the best from your state.”

“Arla is in an excited state of shock,” says her mother, Kate Long. “I don’t think she really thought she would win.”

Arla is a two-time winner of the Farm to Cafeteria/OISD Student Chef Competition event: the first year for her favorite orange-almond granola, and the second year when she teamed up with her friend, Millie Kau, for the now national-contest-winning salad noodle wraps.

A list of all the winners and particulars about the state dinner may be found at www.recipechallenge.epicurious.com.