Deadline for Iron Chef cook-off today at 5 p.m.
The egg timer is almost out for students who want to participate in CMU’s Iron Chef.
The upcoming Iron Chef competition is part of the Asian Cultural Organization’s Night of the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
As of Tuesday morning, no one has signed up to compete. The deadline to sign up is 5 p.m. today.
Marie Tam, Sterling Heights senior and ACO president, said the more people who compete to become the Iron Chef, the better the contest will be.
“It’s something that a lot of people are used to seeing on television, but it might be something a little different because students will be using an Asian flair while cooking,” she said.
Tam said Grand Rapids senior Ming Xu is the chef to beat.
“We’re going to call him the Iron Chef,” she said. “He’s known amongst our group as the cook and he likes to try different creative recipes.”
Xu, an ACO member, developed the idea for the Iron Chef competition.
“I think my cooking skills are good, but I know there are people out there that are better,” he said. “It’ll be more fun if you have someone in mind that you can compete with.”
Xu said food he or his girlfriend cooks means more than meals prepared in a restaurant.
“It’ll mean more to me to have me or her cook the meal and enjoy the meal together than just going out and grabbing a bite to eat,” he said.
Xu also encouraged people to sign up for the competition to dispel some stereotypes about college students.
“This is a way for us as students to get to know each other to know that students can cook. We don’t just open up a can of Campbell’s soup and have that for dinner,” he said. “There are college students who do know how to cook.”
Tam said anyone who wants to sign up for the contest can do so in the Minority Student Services Office, or at the ACO’s box in the Student Organization Center, both in the lower level of the Bovee University Center.
There will be a variety of activities available at the Night of the Arts, Tam said.
She said the event will include food tasting, arts and crafts, origami, henna and some games.
“It’s something that’s fun and interesting. It’s something out of the ordinary,” she said. “There’s a little bit of Asian influence and you can learn while you’re there.”
