Kayla Brown
Staff Writer
Loud music was playing, long lines were forming and hot food was being prepared by chefs for hungry visitors at the annual Chef’s Fare in the Boyd Dining Center. The theme for this year? Music genres, which they embraced and ran with, incorporating the theme into every aspect of the evening.
Visitors were welcomed by Ms. Polly and other employees, who were wearing hip hop flare.
“I’m looking forward to the students having a fun time, and enjoying themselves,” said Polly, who was enjoying herself sporting an outfit with one pant leg up, a hat backwards and a gold chain saying “gangsta.”
That was only the beginning of a delightful experience to come. Our very own chef Brian Anderson welcomed visitors who were coming to his rap station. His food selection included barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese and cheesy pea casserole. The song “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang inspired the rap station’s cuisine.
“I mean, the macaroni’s soggy, the peas are mushed and the chicken tastes like wood,” rapped Anderson, this being the lyric that inspired his creation for the occasion.
“It took me all day to make it, and I’m looking forward to us winning,” said Anderson.
“My favorite dish so far is the Barbeque Chicken,” said freshman Courtni Wilson, who had a grand smile on her face each time she took a bite, liking that it “had a nice flavor, and [was] a little spicy.”
Luckily, the peas weren’t smashed like quoted in the song.
“The peas are very good, and I don’t like peas at all,” said Dean of Students Keith Moore. “If anyone can make peas delicious, then they have my vote.”
The next station was lead by Shenandoah University’s Chef Donnie Hawkins. For the pop theme, they chose to prepare pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw and root beer floats.
“I had pop music, so I chose foods that are popular,” said Hawkins. “You can’t go wrong with a pulled pork sandwich and curly fries. I’m here to make what you guys like.”
Based on the consistently long line for his station, it looked like his goal was met.
“The pulled pork is so good, and it tastes like real barbecue,” said freshman Denisha Howard.
“I’m really going for that pulled pork,” said junior Andrea Slurff. “The flavor is really nice.”
Next, there was the University of Mary Washington, with Chef Robert Beaudry. His chosen genre was heavy metal, cooking up pork ribs, jalapeno corn bread, “mosh” potatoes and his famous fallen angel cake, with chocolate and cherries on the side.
It was apparent Beaudry was enjoying himself, modeling a “rocker wig” while he passed out the pork ribs.
“I chose pork because pork reminds me of something heavy, “said Beaudry. “You know, like heavy metal, except it’s heavy in your stomach.”
His pork ribs were a success, along with his delicious fallen angel cake.
“I like the pork by itself, it was really good,” said junior La’Cresha Lambert.
Even those who attended the Chef’s Fare for their first time enjoyed the experience.
“I loved the atmosphere,” said junior Hope Theodora. “The energy was great, and the staff is interactive and fun like always. You can tell that they were enjoying themselves, which made it even better.”
“I think everyone had a great time,” said General Manager of Campus Services for Sodexo Tim Lockett. “The students were really involved, they enjoyed the good food and our staff had a great time themselves.”
The Chef’s Fare championship title was awarded to our very own Chef Brian Anderson, for his Hip Hop inspired dishes. This year’s Chef’s Fare was musical, delectable and too rich of an experience to pass up.
