The Great Mac and Cheese Meltdown
Author Madeleine White ’29 is a Food Business Management major.
As I walked out of my dorm building, I was met with booming energy. Literally, the music was booming! I was also met with the swirling aromas of food, which is not unexpected for a culinary school but now it was right outside my door. It was the CIA Mac and Cheese Cook-Off! As I walked around the crowds of people, enjoying different mac and cheese-based dishes, I ran into Dr. J.J., the senior associate dean of campus life and student development AKA, the man who sets up these competitions on campus. Here’s what he had to say about the event: “Last year was the first year we did this, and oh man was it a hit! We had 450 students and guests who came out to see what these students could do. You can’t go wrong with mac and cheese! The sun’s out, it a beautiful day and I can’t wait for this to go on for year and years!”
Now I was off to try each of the eight new and creative twists on this cheesy dish. My favorite was “Sweet Salvation.” I had one member of their team, Andre Mota ’26, to describe their concept for me:
“So, this is a dessert mac and cheese made with a berry compote, mascarpone cream cheese, and mozzarella. Baked like a cheesecake with cranberry crust on top, whipped mascarpone with orange zest and a lemon candy peel. The milk we use is infused with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and so we kind of just wanted to go sweet play on both sides to meet both. Having both bakers and culinary students here so we used technical skills from both kinds of education and just had fun with it.”
After I had fun trying all of these wildly unique flavors, it was time to vote. While my vote remains a secret, I am excited to share the winners of this competition.
Winning the “Professionalism Award” and $250 was Consommé Cousins.
Next, winning 3rd place, “People’s Choice,” and the “Showmanship Award,” $500 each was Zackaroni and Cheese.
Our 2nd place winner, earning $750, was the Sombrero Squad.
After a long debate from judges, and with the help of our sponsors Barilla and Saputo, winning 1st place and $1,250 was Holy Macrimony.
“Mac” the Most of Your Education Here at CIA
Read about CIA’s first Mac and Cheese Cook-Off.