The University Program Council is calling all cooks.
UPC will host its second Iron Chef competition March 30 in the Spidle Hall kitchen lab, room 238. The event will follow the format of the popular Japanese and American shows of the same name in which contestants are given one main "secret ingredient" and are asked to prepare a number of dishes within a time limit.
"We're not expecting to have chefs like the Food Network," said Matt Ciuros, director of special projects for UPC. "We are anticipating a lot of skilled people that know what they are doing and a lot that don't."
Contestants will be given a list of provided ingredients when they sign up.
A secret ingredient will be revealed at the start of the competition and must be used in all dishes.
"We'll have a range of skill levels," Ciuros said. "I think the ingredients we are going to offer will accommodate all of them."
Teams will have at least an hour to cook.
Miss Auburn University will be a judge along with representatives from the city of Auburn and Auburn University's food science department. Each member from the winning team will be awarded a cash prize.
Auburn native and personal chef Carol Duncan will be on hand to assist contestants.
Ryan Odom, sophomore in food science, said he splits his time between classes and his job as a chef. He said he thinks many college students don't cook because of lack of space and high prices for food.
"When doing something like this, more people are going to be exposed to creative thinking with food and in the kitchen," Odom said. "That exposure alone could be a motivating factor to get students interested in cooking more for themselves and even for their friends and family."
Sydney Murphy, assistant director of research and evaluation for UPC, said she thinks participation in events like this is a great opportunity to meet people on campus.
"A lot of student involvement is based around sports, so it's nice to have another outlet for people who aren't into sports or other group activities around campus," Murphy said.
The competition begins at 5:30 p.m. Participants can sign up in Student Center room 3130.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
