By Christian Tufino
Members of two student clubs, Fuerza and Her Campus, went head to head at SUNY Plattsburgh’s Cardinal Cook-Off on March 5.
This lighthearted and flavor-filled event hosted by Cardinal Cupboard Manager Hakima Bachar allowed for a fun way for students to showcase their cooking abilities in a club vs club cook-off inside Clinton Dining Hall.
The winner’s dish would become available to all students through the rotating menu at Clinton Dining Hall.
The two teams were given a set list of ingredients before the event that they must make a dish from. Both teams consist of four to five people from the club who must make a dish within a short time limit.
The challenge was to see who could make the better dish based on a scale of presentation, use of the mystery ingredients, cleanliness and taste.
The mystery ingredient was, as the name implies, a surprise to the competitors as well as the spectators. Participants had different reactions when told they had to cook with chickpeas.
Kayla Alonzo, Fuerza club member, felt that she dealt with the surprise chickpeas very well.
“I’m Dominican and we always have a vinegar salad, so I saw the chickpeas and thought ‘that’s just a vegetable, I can just make it into a salad,’” Alonzo said.
Bachar hosted this event with the goal to give students a stress free environment to spend time with their friends two weeks before midterms.
“I just wanted to do something fun, not academics focused or skills based, just something fun to do with clubs and get students involved,” Bachar said.
With the help of Laura Rathbun, Clinton Dining Hall executive chef, and the rest of Clinton Dining Hall’s staff, the two clubs cooked for an intense hour and a half. Fuerza made fried chicken with mac and cheese, with a side of chickpea salad.
Her Campus made a fiesta bowl with rice, grilled peppers, chickpeas and chicken paired with a side of chips and dip.
Sarah Tansey, Her Campus member, pulled from familiar places for the club’s dish.
“Every time I go home my mom would always make tacos, so when I saw the ingredients list my immediate thought was to recreate what she makes at home,” Tansey said.
Brenda Gabriel, Fuerza club member, wanted to share and help others relate to her background through her food.
“We (Fuerza club) all come from a similar background, being city kids, so when we come up here we feel like there’s not enough comfort food. That’s why we went the comfort food route,” Gabriel said.
Although the competition was strong, the decision was unanimous in favor of Her Campus and their fiesta bowl.
“The two teams were very different, personality wise, but they put together some amazing, amazing food, and it was very hard to judge,” Bachar said.
Her Campus won the hard fought competition, meaning students can now find their fiesta bowl in the Clinton Dining hall menu rotation.
Bachar wants to make this a recurring activity for students to engage in after seeing how successful the Cook-Off was.
“We’re looking forward to continuing to do this every spring semester,” Bachar said.
