My Cooking Dance

Having no idea what to expect, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the nature of our most recent adventure. Well, that's not exactly true. Considering the fact that we were to meet in the Instructional Kitchen, I figured we would be cooking. And I love food, so I was ready to go. I think it was cool that we incorporated our families and friends into this challenge, because not only did we have a chance to kick it with our people, but the families also had the opportunity to get a first-hand view of what the program is all about. They were able to meet with the BLF staff and fellows, participate in a challenge, and enjoy one of the new features of the Ohio Union. This challenge presented us with the opportunity to be creative, to work under time constraints, to work with new people, to work in a new environment, to confront ambiguity, and to have a good time.

I took a back-seat role during this challenge since I'm not exactly the bomb.com in the kitchen. So, I tried to help however I could. I had invited a friend to accompany me during the challenge and she enjoyed herself as well. Roles didn't change much since I was acting pretty goofy the whole time (but still making contributions!). I even got a blood blister from going so hard while stirring the risotto. But the funny thing is, I didn't even notice until I was finished since I was having too much fun. If you haven't already, make your way to YouTube and learn the Cooking Dance. I won't provide a link since it may not be all that appropriate. Just know that I was hitting my cooking dance in the kitchen. :)

My team worked pretty well together. We set up mini-time goals (e.g. "With 6 minutes left, we'll plate the food"). Otherwise, we started planning what we were going to make, and just took off. Sometimes, people (me) would find themselves with nothing to do since everyone was just running around but it was definitely organized chaos. Since Ms. Pacelli was the only non-Ohio State person on our team, we all listened to her. But, we all contributed to the planning and she gave us plenty of room to provide input. There was a natural hierarchy established, which might have been different if it had just been fellows. The hardest part about this challenge was trying to make the dishes awesome with the time we had. We were excited about getting everything moving that we lost track of time. For instance, we cooked the chicken at 400 degrees for 12 minutes instead of 325-350 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Even I thought 400 degrees was a bit odd, since chicken was really all I cooked when I lived in an apartment last summer during my internship. The easiest part of the challenge was coming up with our menu. Ideas just seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Regarding competencies, I exercised teamwork skills, dependability, and creativity/innovation. Basically, I had tasks to perform, and I did them....BAM! Team work and dependability. Then, I used a container to smash the pretzels...POW! Innovation.

Overall, the event was pretty cool and chill. I think it would be cool if the event was held again in the future, since people were able to be creative and have fun in a low-pressure competitive environment. However! Next time, everyone should make enough food for everyone to sample, because I really wanted some of what the other teams made, like bread pudding. Yum!  But the food that I did taste, was pleasing to the palate.

*Radio noise* Over.