Chefs, cooks, and culinary students of the Las Cruces area competed at 100 West Cafe in Gerald Thomas in the 575 Food Fights this semester. The final duel for the professional bracket took place on Oct. 28, from 6—8 p.m.
The turnout consisted of two competitors, four judges, and guests. The kitchen was open to the guests to spectate the competitors as they prepared their meals for the judges. Before the competition, the contestants chose three ingredients at random to use in their food.
One of the judges, Assistant Professor and Chef Instructor Danielle Young, who also hosted the event, brought the idea of Food Fights from Albuquerque to New Mexico State University last semester.
“We hosted an event in Albuquerque called 505 Food Fights, and it’s a huge culinary event up there, and I know a lot of the chefs who run it,” Young said. “I used to go to them all the time. So, when I came here, I started 575 Food Fights so that we could have that same culinary community and for it to get big here too.”
Young elaborated on why creating that community in the area is an important goal of 575 Food Fights.
“The purpose of this event is to create a culinary community here in Las Cruces and help connect our students from all over the city to culinary professionals, further networking within our industry,” Young said.
One of Young’s students, Giovanni Cifuentes, was in the kitchen where the two contestants worked. As part of his class, Cifuentes helped the cooks during the competition.
“I watch over them, like for whenever they need help with the timers, help find where an ingredient is, or where a tool is, just helping them out along the way,” Cifuentes said.
Another assistant at the event, Logan Norton, joined because the competition was a source of creativity.
“These events are just fun to watch and participate in because the guests get to be so up close in the kitchen,” Norton said. “It is a lot of fun to watch and see the creativity of what they can do with the really unusual ingredients, like chicken liver, or like a couple of weeks ago they had to use Mountain Dew. It is entertaining to see.”
Judge Santiago Griego explained why events like these benefit the competitors in their careers.
“I think it gives them an opportunity to learn quick thinking skills and helps them acquire some more real-world experience,” Griego said. “The community involvement here has the chefs and culinary students directly get that valuable experience.”
At the end, Dutch Bros barista Mia Dawes snatched victory with a winning margin of just two points. This was the first time in years she had participated in an event like this.
“I really have not competed ever since getting out of high school, so it was a little bit intense doing something out of my comfort zone, and this definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. But it has reignited my passion for cooking, so I am thinking about going back to school because of this,” Dawes said.
