Purdue's 'Iron Chefs' take on residence hall cooking

McCutcheon Hall will hold a residence hall version of "Iron Chef," a cooking contest broadcast on the Food Network, at 8 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 14) in the hall's North Activities Lounge.

The competition will consist of 10 teams of two or three McCutcheon Hall residents making an appetizer, entrée and dessert from a list of provided ingredients. In an attempt to mimic the types of cooking possible in residence hall rooms, teams will only be allowed to use microwaves and coffee makers to heat food.

"We wanted the meals they make to be things that could be made by residents," said event organizer Lisa Bramer, McCutcheon Hall resident assistant. "It really is a college version of 'Iron Chef,' with foods that college students eat a lot of — things like lunchmeat and ramen noodles."

Bramer, a senior in the College of Science from Hinckley, Minn., said all food that the teams use to make their meals are items that are available for purchase in the Boiler Crossing and Boiler Junction convenience stores, located in Meredith and Tarkington halls.

Teams have already received a list of ingredients and will be able to preplan their menus; however, like on "Iron Chef" the teams also will be given a surprise ingredient that must be incorporated into their meals.

A panel of resident assistants at McCutcheon will rate the meals.

Writer: Matt Holsapple, (765) 494-2073, mholsapple@purdue.edu

Source: Lisa Bramer, (765) 495-1502, lbramer@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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