BY BARRY WARNER

Local kids were able to participate in their own version of the popular TV show ‘Iron Chef’ on Thursday, July 11, 2013. The Nanuet Library made sure that participants had a fun thing to do in the Community Room, during this summer evening.

The 20 teens were grouped randomly in five teams of four each. They had just 20 minutes to race against the clock and choose some of the following ingredients for their cupcake creations: syrup, frosting, marshmallows, strawberries, blueberries, ready crust, grapes, bananas, licorice, gummy-bears, whipped cream, M&Ms and chocolate pretzels.
Teen Services Director Suzanne Congdon said, “Teens especially love food and this was also an activity for me to get to know them. It provided an opportunity for kids to work together in teams using their culinary skills. The challenge was to use the missing ingredient, a plain cupcake and come up with a creative design, in order to win a wooden spoon. The spoon would be placed in a viewing area downstairs, with the names of the winning participants. The judges’ primary goal was to determine which group was able to best express the unique qualities of the themed ingredient. The ‘ice breaker’ activity was geared to identify herbs, which consisted of plates with samples of mint, parsley, basil, chives, sage, dill and rosemary.”

The final formulations named ‘Monster Cupcake,’ ‘Cupcake and Beyond,’ ‘Colorful Castles,’ ‘Holidays’ and ‘Chocolate Paradise’ were judged on creativity, presentation and taste. The winning delicacy was ‘Colorful Castles’ produced by the team of Lyla, Danielle, Andrea and Brenda. The following comments were made by three members of the winning team:
Lyla said, “It was fun to work with a team and make a winning cupcake.”

Danielle said, “It was fun and suspenseful, while working with a great team.”
Some artists use canvasses and others use cupcakes. In this hands-on activity, the teens expressed themselves making artful, tasty frosted cupcake creations. They turned plain cupcakes from ‘HO-HUM’ to ‘OH-YUM’!!
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