LERON WELLINGTON
Staff Writer
Let’s face it: everyone loves cooking shows. The nearly impossible challenge of making a dish out of unexpected ingredients in a limited amount of time makes for great television. But what is better than seeing the competition happen right before your eyes?
On Nov. 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room, four teams of three students will compete for the glory of being named the winner of FREDChef and a Fredonia gift card.
The teams have 1 hour and 15 minutes to make one dish that will be judged by a panel of students and faculty on flavor, appearance, consistency, presentation and originality.
“I signed up to compete in FREDChef because it was brought up in our Italian cooking class, and I thought it would be a really fun opportunity,” said Brianna Condon, a senior psychology major. “Since I am graduating this semester, I wanted to make sure I participated in a lot of different, fun Fredonia activities before I graduated!”
The teams have been given a list of the available ingredients in the pantry provided for the event, so they have been able to brainstorm and practice cooking with each other.
While the clock ticks down as students come up with a main dish, judges will be interviewed and campus groups will perform to keep the audience entertained.
Kathryn Thies, the Special Programs manager, said, “Seeing the students work together and the capacity that they work to create a dish out of ingredients that do not necessarily go together is really cool.”
The Director of Dining Services, Dean Messina, has been planning the event and is excited to see what dishes students come up with. This being his third time planning the event, he said, “The food that is usually presented to us is restaurant quality. Even though this is a competition, I think that they are all winners in my book. It’s really fun, and I enjoy doing it every year.”
Students are welcome to see this free and entertaining event, and everyone is encouraged to root on their favorite teams as they fight for the name of the FREDChef champion.