Tasty competition takes over

Sodexho hosted its first “Battle of the Brains,” Thursday, Feb. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the dining hall.

The event took on an “Iron Chef” theme as teachers from different departments battled one another in a cooking competition.

Four departments entered the contest: Information, Technology and Marketing, Early Childhood & Middle Grades Education, The GIVE Center and Human Resources.

Each team consisted of three members, all of whom are staff at GC&SU. Teams had one hour to show off their cooking skills before student judges decided whose dish would treat their taste buds the best.

Makeisha Lowe, administrative assistant for Dining Services, was in charge of coordinating the event.

“I hope everybody participates- we’ve worked long hours to get this together,” Lowe said. “Students will be having chances to win prizes and we will also be having a DJ.”

Lowe plans all of the resident dining promotions for GC&SU and said she’s been working on Battle of the Brains since November.

“Students should come out to have fun and to see whose cuisine rings supreme,” Lowe said.

Heather Gregory, a junior political science major, was among the many students who turned out for the event Thursday night.

“I work for Human Resources and all I’ve heard about all week was ‘Battle of the Brains’,” Gregory said. “It’s cool to see the teachers get into it and I didn’t think it would be this big. I feel like I’m in Capital City with this DJ and the music he’s playing.”

Along with the entertainment, students were also given the opportunity to participate in a “Fear Factor” contest.

What made the night more intriguing was that faculty contestants did not know what food product they would be handling before the competition. The event was a spin-off of the show “Iron Chef,” which airs nightly on The Food Network channel.

Contestants were allowed to show up a few minutes prior to the kickoff to view the set up and other items such as pasta, oils, spices and pre-cooked items that they were allowed to use. The secret ingredient was revealed right before the battle started, giving contestants one hour to prepare an entr?e and two side dishes with spur-of-the-moment recipes and ideas. The secret ingredient for this year’s competition was. chicken.

The Information, Technology & Marketing department, which consisted of assistant professor Joe Schwartz, professor Richard Bialac, and associate professor Renee Fontenot, took an interesting approach to the presentation side of the event.

“I’m working on the presentation side,” Bialac said. “I’m making caricatures of the professors. Some have hair, some have beards, some are bald, and we all have big ears to show that someone is listening and our tongues are flapping.”

Contestants were judged by five students and were ranked on taste, presentation and creativity.

The winner of “Battle of the Brains” was the Early Childhood and Middle Grades Education department. The department won $250 off of a Sodexho catered meal; parting gifts were given to participants and judges.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 24 2006. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry