The Ultimate sMACdown!
Intense competition filled our Sunday night at the shop as four members of our team battled for mac and cheese dominance! Eight judges with deep food knowledge and discerning palates blind tasted our dishes and decided our fate…
These shenanigans started almost two months ago when Joe, one of our cheesemongers, noticed we didn’t have a shop mac and cheese recipe. He invited me to join him in creating our shop recipe, so we decided to get together one Monday and figure it out. Quickly, however, it became clear we had very different ideas of how this mac and cheese should be. And if we couldn’t agree on the perfect smacs, chances were that our coworkers would have strong opinions too. Our solution? A mac and cheese competition, of course. In just a few days, an ingredient draft was planned, and a throwdown date was written in bold sharpie on the shop calendar.
The Mac and Cheese Ingredient Draft of 2021 was an exciting day. We employed the snake draft techniques of our fantasy football league, and had five rounds of drafting for items in the shop. We mostly focused on cheese, but there were some surprise picks like a bottle of vermouth, and bucatini (such a non-traditional mac and cheese shape – shocking!). We also had a list of basics everyone could use, like flour and milk, and a list of no-nos such as spice blends and jarred sauces.
Three weeks later, the big day arrived. Jimmy, Chris, Joe, and I made our mac and cheeses at home then dashed for the shop. The judges (aka our coworkers) were seated at a long table set with score cards, no. 2 pencils, and plates loaded with our various mac and cheeses. We competitors sat at the other end of the table with our own plates, talking loudly to block out the judges’ discussion. I barely listened to either conversation because I was happily ensconced in a blissful mac and cheese world. Working with people who love food so much has many advantages, one being that the food we enjoy at staff potlucks is always incredible.
Finally, the judges asked us to leave the table so they could openly deliberate. We went into the back office, snacking on each other’s macs until we felt slightly ill, and after a loong while, they called us back. I felt like I was on Top Chef as we stood in front of the table … and they announced that I won!! Owww owww owwwww yes, friends, I am still jazzed UP because my fellow cooks made some freakin awesome mac and cheese! Since they were all killah, we’re going to publish each of the recipes in the months to come. We hope you will enjoy them as much as we did!
Check out my winning recipe here!
For the love of cheese and macs,
Kiri
P.S. Anyone who knows me knows that I hate white pumpkins. I think they are creepy and ghostly and repulsive. Of course, the judges awarded me with a white pumpkin as my mac and cheese prize so that I would “stay humble” and “not let the win go to my head.” HA! Well that didn’t work, MY EGO IS HUGE! Just kidding, it was a wonderful night because the whole staff was together, doing something silly, and eating four different types of mac and cheese. The dream!
