Vying for four categories, 12 student teams competed to bake their respective dishes in order to win the coveted golden rolling pins. The student chefs were given two hours to cook their dishes, trying to win in the categories Sweet, Savory, Technique, and Decoration.
The event was a fundraiser for the South Lakes food pantry. Every guest had to make a donation of five dollars to the food pantry that went towards the purchase of food. In total, the event raised a total of over $3,000 for the food pantry.
The bakers, in groups of two, stayed after school and were given a two hour time limit to cook and prepare bite sized versions of their dishes to give out to the people who would then vote on their food. The exception was the technique category, which was judged by a group of other students who weren’t competing, who judged the competitors as they were cooking based on the complexity of their dishes.
The winners for each category were as follows: Las Cartas de Amor Tres Leches for the Sweet category, with their Tres Leches cake; Cook the Books for the Savory category, with their Chicken Paprikash; The Wurst Team for the Technique category, with their three German dishes; and Science National Honors Society for the Decoration category.
As for next year, multiple contestants have expressed interest in having more time allotted for the competition.
“It was really hard to do it in the two hours that we were provided,” said Sophomore Ava Satterfield. “I think they should give them more time, honestly, for cooking next year.
They gave us two hours to both plate and cook,” agreed Senior Hunter Church. He also admitted that, despite this, the pressure of time is something that’s core to baking competitions. “It’s kind of a crunch, but I guess it’s part of the challenge,” said Church.
Church also commented on his personal favorite part of IB Iron Chef: the social element. “The most fun was definitely serving,” said Church. “[It’s fun] when everything is out there and you’re just talking to people, you’re engaging with them, you’re talking about why you made things.”
Asked about what he learned, Church emphasized figuring out how to stay cool under pressure and understanding the importance of collaboration.
“I learned the value of being able to calm yourself in a very crowded situation and also the value of being able to work in a small team and direct on various objectives.”
Satterfield enjoyed the connection to the baking competitions on TV like MasterChef, and liked taking part in an event similar to those.
“I’ve always wanted to have that kind of experience that I see on cooking and baking shows because I love watching Master Chef,” said Satterfield. “I really enjoyed that I got to be a part of that kind of experience.”
