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The Japanese are invading the United States again, only this time they’re not leaving their mark with 100 tons of bombs, circa 1941. Instead, it’s through the country’s immensely popular television cooking show, “The Iron Chef.” The popularity of the show has even inspired The University of Maine’s Campus Activities Board to create its own version of the show, “The Tin Chef,” which will be hosted tonight in Memorial Union.
While “The Iron Chef” features world-class chefs preparing delicacies, “The Tin Chef” is aimed primarily toward a college crowd and will incorporate microwaves and other simple kitchen appliances, making it more relatable for the average college student. The decision to title the event “Tin” derives from this goal.
The Tin Chef” features “cooking on a limited budget and with limited resources as far as kitchen appliances go. We decided tin was a less classy and lower-scale metal,” said Noelle O’Clair, chair of CAB’s game nights.
Like the Japanese import, “The Tin Chef” requires contestants, although in this incarnation it is teams of three, rather then individuals, to perform cooking tasks in order to ultimately create the tastiest dish using a variety of ingredients and the required “secret” ingredient. In order to achieve extra time and extra cooking appliances, the teams will engage in mini-cooking tasks, such as an apple peeling contest.
“The winning team will be given cooking-related items as a prize,” said O’Clair, “there will also be an award given to the ‘best-dressed’ cooking team.”
Before the event each team will spend $10 on ingredients at a convenience store on campus and then use these ingredients to prepare their final dish, although they must also incorporate the “secret” ingredient. Each team will receive points awarded on taste, originality, use of secret ingredient, style and presentation by a panel of judges. There will be three teams of three competing in the event.
The competition will be held at 8 p.m. in the North Dining Room Memorial Union and the crowd will be offered samples of each team’s dish, giving the event an interactive appeal.
“The hosts will have microphones to announce and interview chefs and their helpers about how meals are prepared,” said O’Clair.
O’Clair said CAB is very excited about the event, as it has not hosted any form of cooking event before.
“We are expecting some great laughs and interesting tastes. Maybe even some new recipes for Easy-Mac and ramen related items,” she said.
Whether the event swims or sinks like the USS Arizona, it promises to offer an interesting time for all teams and those in attendance.
