The Flaming Chef | May the best chef win: The ACDC recipie contest

Craig Libman Columnist

A few weeks ago, I briefly mentioned that ACDC is holding a recipe contest this month for all Vassar students. While news of the contest was released in October, the dining hall is still actively seeking recipes from the student body, as response has been a bit slow. So, I encourage everyone to send in a favorite recipe from their personal or family collection. All submissions should be sent to recipes@vassar.edu.

Developed by Maureen King, Head of Dining Services, and Angela Terry, the ACDC Intern, this competition was designed to get students involved with campus dining. By soliciting recipes from Vassar students, ACDC hopes to learn more about the individual tastes and backgrounds of the student body.

In order for this competition to work, dining services needs your recipes and ideas! Before you start typing up your favorite dishes, however, here’s how the contest works. Each recipe sent in will be judged by the food committee in the following seven categories: best salad, side dish, meat or poultry entree, vegetarian entree, pasta, chicken wing sauce, and dessert. After the committee has selected the winner in each category, a dinner will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 7th featuring each winner. At this dinner, the general student body will have the opportunity to vote on the Grand Prize winner. The winners for each individual category will receive a gift basket while the Grand Prize winner will be given 50 retreat points.

In addition to individual students, student groups and organizations may also submit recipes. Judging by the multitude of dishes I have seen for sale in the College Center by such groups as the Asian Student Alliance, Ferry House, and the Caribbean Students Alliance, this aspect of the contest should add a delicious multicultural component to the event. Winning student organizations will receive either a pizza party or passes for Sunday brunch.

The criteria that the committee will judge each recipe on consists of four components: creative use of ingredients, taste, visual appeal, and the ability of producing the dish on a large scale. While the judges encourage students to send a wide variety of dishes, they are particularly looking for recipes that can be integrated as part of the ACDC culinary repertoire. In that regard, price of ingredients is a definite consideration, so you may want to save your lobster recipes for another competition. There is also a great interest in finding new vegetarian and vegan recipes to be served at the dining center.

While I am not a veteran of cooking contests, I have written several recipes before. Here are some pointers in writing your recipe in a clear, concise format:

• Choose a recipe title that excites the judges. Simple, common recipes such as “lemon chicken” or “steamed broccoli” often need a little embellishment. After all, which sounds more enticing: “Wings with Hot Sauce” or “Flamingly Hot Wings with a Vengeance”? However, if a recipes ingredients are exciting enough, there is no need to come up with a cheesy name. For example, “Pistachio Crusted Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples” sound mouth watering.

• List any special equipment needed. After all, it’s frustrating to find out that you need something special, such as a pressure cooker or pizza pan halfway through preparing the recipe. If you are submitting a baking recipe, take special note of the size and shape of the pan being used, as this factor affects baking time.

• If your recipe was not solely created by yourself, make sure to cite your sources. Writing a recipe is a lot like writing a research paper, always cite where your recipe came from or what you based it off of (even if it’s from your Mom - after all, she deserves credit too, right?).

• If possible, include a personal anecdote before or after your recipe of how it was created or the memories you have revolving around it. Judges always love recipes that are of a personal nature. If you have a funny or sentimental memory about the recipe you’re sending, make sure to mention it!

I hope this article has encouraged all of my readers to submit their recipes to this contest. After all, a win for my readers would be a win for me!