Campus Enterprises Student Employees Compete in Cook-Off
College students can’t cook? Think again.
On Monday, April 9, 2018, Campus Enterprises’ Student Development and Success Program hosted the Student Employee Cookoff: Campus Enterprises Can Cook competition as part of Student Employee Appreciation Week. The cook-off in Fountain Dining Hall featured five teams and three underutilized items from “Feed the Pack,” NC State’s food pantry on campus. Each team received a “secret” canned ingredient from the pantry that was incorporated into each dish. Highlighted foods included canned green beans, corn, and peas. Creativity skyrocketed as competitors teamed up with trained chefs to create globally-inspired, allergen-friendly, and plant-based samples. Each dish contained spectacular flavors, surprising textures, vibrant colors, and savory notes. Other Campus Enterprises student employees had the chance to try each item and vote for their favorite using anonymous voting slips.
The five dishes students entered into the Students Can Cook competition included the “Emperor’s New Bowl” with chicha morada, corn vada with beans and corn salsa, caviar-inspired peas, samosa chaat, and lubieh with white rice, hummus, and tomato cucumber salad. Competitors stood proudly behind the plated food, inviting students, guests, and staff to try their dishes. The event also featured lively games, such as NC State Dining’s can-pong game, where students had the chance to throw ping pong balls into cans for a chance to win a jump rope. Nutrition and wellness resources, handouts, and recipe cards were also given out to student employees.
Overall, the student cooking competition was overwhelmingly successful. The winning team from the staff of the restaurants in Talley Student Union received a large trophy and bragging rights for the best student-made dish, corn vada.
Campus Enterprises is currently hiring for summer and fall 2018. To apply online, visit go.ncsu.edu/work-for-ce.