On Friday, the 6th, Culinary Arts hosted a cookie-baking contest across all 6 periods. The students participated in a bake-off and split into 6 different groups. Four teachers were invited to taste the cookies and rank them based on a variety of categories.

The period began in a frenzy as students began making their cookies, rushing to make sure their cookies were baked before the time was up. Students chose a range of different recipes, with many groups opting to bake a s’mores-inspired cookie, while others made Oreo cookies and even Mexican chocolate cookies.

William Caples (12) explained his group’s choice, “wanting to make sure that our cookies stood out, but weren’t too crazy to the point that it was overdone. Funnily enough,” he added, “ two other groups also chose to do s’mores, but I think ours turned out pretty well.” 

Mr. Rodocker, the Culinary Arts teacher, thought that there was a wonderful array of different cookies. “We had matcha cookies, ube cookies, coffee cookies, and like 15 different other types of cookies. There were just so many different ones, I couldn’t even pick my favorite one.”

Although many of the students had previous baking experiences, some had only gotten into baking after joining Culinary Arts. Reynelle (12), one of the bakers from Kitchen 3, said that she had only been cooking for two years. “I’ve only been baking since I joined Culinary Arts, and I ended up finding out I really enjoyed baking. I think it’s fun that I get to hang out with my friends and bake at the same time.”

Sehr Malik (12) also agreed with this sentiment, adding, “I love working alone in the kitchen, but it is you know, it could be a bit annoying to work with people, but it is also rewarding and fun.”

Kitchen 3 ended up winning, with their Mexican chocolate cookies coming out on top in a tight race between the other five. Reynelle, one of the bakers, felt that their process went pretty smoothly. “We didn’t really run into any problems, and our cookie was baked well.” 

The cookie bake off was certainly a fun event for the students, but many also felt that Culinary Arts had taught them a lot more than just baking. William Caples (12) recounted his experiences, saying. “I think it’s taught me the ability to work at a fast pace. I’ve learned how to do it in a certain amount of time without sacrificing precision, and it teaches you that when you work hard, you get what you deserve.”

Overall, the event was hugely successful and also well received by the teachers who were invited to judge, with minor complications. Mr. Rodocker did not face any major issues but joked that “shopping for 24 different recipes was absolutely awful, but it was worth it when I got to watch the students bake.” The annual bake-off has been going on for 20 years, and Mr. Rodocker says that it has gone wonderfully every time.