For obnoxiously awesome photos of delicious food! Gecko sent me this idea and it was allllllllll over.

FOODIES: READ THIS BLOG.

I'm mentoring eight high school kids for a cooking competition that will take place in the Expo center. The competition rules are more than a little ridiculous for a group of high school kids. They will have one hour to prepare a starter (soup, salad, or appetizer), a main dish that must contain protein, starch, and vegetables, and a dessert. That can totally be done.

They're not allowed to use any electrical appliances or an oven. They will have TWO BUTANE BURNERS as their source of heat. That is all.

That is DUMB.

I mean, for a group of professionals, folks already in the industry, sure, give 'em a challenge. But these are kids in a high school culinary program. Are they TRYING to make the kids hate kitchen work before they even get to it?

They have to present on dishes provided. They have to bring their own food and will not have any refrigeration available. They are not allowed to use any prepared food - the only things from a can/jar/whatever allowed are stocks and jams/jellies - but only as an ingredient. This is going to be tough.

I met the group today. They seem like a bright group of people, they're definitely psyched about this whole thing, and their enthusiasm is appreciated. Today, the second mentor (Lindsey? God, I'm so bad with names) and I did a demo of our suggestions for the competition, a menu idea we bashed out during last weekend's lunch meeting. The kids have to do the menu, we're allowed to suggest things, but it's their choice ultimately. They're using a lot of my ideas, in the end. That makes me happy. They also were very appreciative of the dessert idea especially, which ALWAYS makes me a happy girl. I was very pleased with how it came out, and I really think it's going to go over well.

So for starters, we're having a seared Ahi tuna salad wrap with sesame wasabi vinagrette. Then for the main course, a shrimp stirfry with lemongrass, snow peas, peppers, and onions served on a bed of black sticky rice (a lucky find at Uwajimaya!). Dessert will be a Chinese five spice chocolate mousse served in a chocolate tulip bowl.

I think we're going to have a lot of fun with this. I'm stoked. It was even worth getting up at 8 on a Saturday for.