I don’t know about you, but I am an avid Iron Chef fan. Every time I hear the overly dramatic music and see The Chairman biting into peppers and doing somersaults, I know that I am in for a hour of excellent television. So when I heard about the Penn State food service’s Collegiate Culinary Challenge, I had visions of Alton Brown, anti-griddles, and fish ice cream dancing in my head.

Although there are some slight differences from my beloved show, this Wednesday at 5 p.m., Redifer commons will be hosting their second annual Culinary Challenge (secret ingredient included). This year’s competitors include: Lauren Boggs, Matthew Brown, Lola Buonomo, Gabriella Jardine, and Lyn Peterson. Each student is given an hour to create their own culinary masterpiece which showcases the secret ingredient.

And the secret ingredient is…

I can only hope that the secret ingredient is unveiled with such gravity and flair this Wednesday.

And sorry for the suspense, but the secret ingredient is actually none of these. This year’s secret ingredient is actually…JENNIE-O SLICED DELI TURKEY MEAT!!!!!! Underwhelmed? ME TOO. The secret ingredient isn’t even a secret.

However, once I got over my initial disappointment, I realized that this isn’t such a bad secret ingredient after all. Having protein as the main ingredient creates the potential for more creative and versatile dishes. Sweet and sour turkey on a rice cake? Fried turkey strips with a gravy au jus? Turkey ice cream sandwiches? The sky is the limit.

If you want to see what your fellow students come up with, make sure you check out this year’s Collegiate Culinary Challenge Wednesday night. And until then…allez cuisine!