Word got out quickly in the USC Chemical Engineering Department that Amy is a good cook. As a result, it seems that we’ve been selected for a competition of sorts.

Whose Cuisine Will Reign Supreme???

The contestants are:

• Team Beaird
• Team Stamps
• Team LaRaque
• Team Stafyla/Beard

The judges for the competition are:

• Tabetha “T-Bird” Deutsch
• John “Moon” Monnier
• Paul “Garbage Disposal” Wilkinson
• Attilio “The Italian Stallion” Siani

The Iron Chef competition will take place on Saturday, March 25th at 12 noon at Kitchen Stadium (The Deutsch House). Contestants will receive notice of the theme ingredient on Friday March 24th at approximately 3:30pm via email. The two dishes will be cooked at the contestant’s respective kitchens, and then brought over to Kitchen Stadium for the tasting. You may put the finishing touches on your dishes at Kitchen Stadium. We have 2 burners, two ovens, a charcoal grill, an electric griddle, and a toaster convection oven. If you wish to finish off your dishes at Kitchen Stadium, please use only your own equipment (pots, pans, dishes, spatualas, etc.). Under no circumstances will you be able to use any food materials from the kitchen. You must bring everything you need.

I think I would like to drive around to the contestant’s houses on Saturday morning to take pictures of the action, so once you know when you will get started, let me know, and I will come around to take pictures before the main event.

The order of tasting has been randomly selected:

• 12:05 –> Team Stafyla/Beard
• 12:25 –> Team LaRaque
• 12:45 –> Team Stamps
• 1:05 –> Team Beaird

Each team must make four small portions of two dishes using the theme ingredient. The first course is an appetizer course, and must be accompanied by a drink. The drink does not have to include the theme ingredient, and may or may not be alcoholic. For example, if I were to say that the theme ingredient was “turnip” you would not have to make turnip juice, but you would have to have a drink to accompany your appetizer that contained turnip.

The appetizer should be a small dish that can be eaten in two or three bites, while only 3-4 bites of the main dish should be eaten (remember, the judges have to eat a lot of food, no problem for Paul). Contestants, don’t worry about making too much food. We will have a “Studio Audience” That will be more than happy to finish off any leftovers

That is it for now.
- Sam