Loving B- School
Okay,
So I love B-school. Today was all about marketing yourself. It is hard for me to try to talk about what I have done because I think it comes off like bragging. I have had some cool jobs though and I learned that I got to get over that and let it all hang out. Of course in a tasteful manner.
The second part of the day made this experience for me though. All week we had been told about a mystery challenge on Friday. Most of us were grumbling about it because we were supposed to be busy till 8:00 on Friday night. I mean really this is school. Well we get to the pavilions and low and behold it is an Iron Chef Challenge. I nearly peed in my pants with excitement. There are six MBA sections at Ross and each had to cook a meal for 90 people utilizing the ingredients available. Each group was given a similar pantry and select ingredients that were available on a first come, first serve basis. We only had two gas burners and two large grills to cook our food, but had a ton of kitchen tools we could also use. The protein was chicken.
Alantria one of my fellow M-trekkers from Trinidad/Tobago knew I could cook, and nominated me to be Top Chef and since no one else wanted it I took control of our 80 person section. We broke out into 4 teams - main course, side dishes, appetizers, and dessert. We decided on a Southwest theme due to the food we had - peppers, jicama, lemons, limes, pineapple, tomatoes, black beans. The appetizer group decided to do a southwest brushcetta with grilled tortillas and jicama. The main course was a grilled chicken with a papaya salsa, the sides roasted veggies - potatoes, zucchini, corn, chayote squash, tomatoes, and finally for dessert a pineapple napoleon with fried filo dough layers. I worked with the dessert team mostly making fresh whipped cream, a berry sauce to compliment the honey sauce, and cutting up filo. I walked around making sure we had what we needed, tasting, making suggestions, and keeping everyone on time. Everyone pulled together, washing needed items, sharing ingredients, adding new ideas, and seeing if anyone needed help. The appetizer group wanted to add a drink to the menu so we came up with a watermelon sangria which rocked. The group worked well together and managed time well - roasting corn first, then the rest of the veggies, and finally the chicken. Most other groups finished way too early meaning that their chicken was dry and overcooked by the time it was ready to serve. By the end I was soaked in sweat, we did this all outside and I was exhausted from running around to the different stations and continuously going back for extra items, but our food was the best and we won the best food award. I totally felt justified and love that Section 4 came together like the rockstars that we are. This experience made me think maybe I should look at the food industry a little bit more seriously. Man, what a great way to begin my year. We even beat out one of the other sections who had a former professional chef.
Each section had to create a skit as well for entertainment and our entertainers killed making fun of the LA screenwriter who led our storytelling workshop. Our section took home best skit as well as best food. I love my section. Tonight, we celebrate our wins at the bar.
At times, I am afraid to take leadership but today, it felt great to lead my fellow students and to utilize the knowledge I have gleamed from numerous cooking reality shows and the Food Network. This experience is totally making me trust myself and my experiences more. I also love while other MBA programs are doing ropes courses (which we also did at Ross), the Ross school isn't all about the hypothetical or the unreal challenge. They make us apply what we learn in the real world and rise to the challenge or fail as a group. No other B-school I know of gives their students this type of opportunity for learning. It is going to be a great two years.
So I love B-school. Today was all about marketing yourself. It is hard for me to try to talk about what I have done because I think it comes off like bragging. I have had some cool jobs though and I learned that I got to get over that and let it all hang out. Of course in a tasteful manner.
The second part of the day made this experience for me though. All week we had been told about a mystery challenge on Friday. Most of us were grumbling about it because we were supposed to be busy till 8:00 on Friday night. I mean really this is school. Well we get to the pavilions and low and behold it is an Iron Chef Challenge. I nearly peed in my pants with excitement. There are six MBA sections at Ross and each had to cook a meal for 90 people utilizing the ingredients available. Each group was given a similar pantry and select ingredients that were available on a first come, first serve basis. We only had two gas burners and two large grills to cook our food, but had a ton of kitchen tools we could also use. The protein was chicken.
Alantria one of my fellow M-trekkers from Trinidad/Tobago knew I could cook, and nominated me to be Top Chef and since no one else wanted it I took control of our 80 person section. We broke out into 4 teams - main course, side dishes, appetizers, and dessert. We decided on a Southwest theme due to the food we had - peppers, jicama, lemons, limes, pineapple, tomatoes, black beans. The appetizer group decided to do a southwest brushcetta with grilled tortillas and jicama. The main course was a grilled chicken with a papaya salsa, the sides roasted veggies - potatoes, zucchini, corn, chayote squash, tomatoes, and finally for dessert a pineapple napoleon with fried filo dough layers. I worked with the dessert team mostly making fresh whipped cream, a berry sauce to compliment the honey sauce, and cutting up filo. I walked around making sure we had what we needed, tasting, making suggestions, and keeping everyone on time. Everyone pulled together, washing needed items, sharing ingredients, adding new ideas, and seeing if anyone needed help. The appetizer group wanted to add a drink to the menu so we came up with a watermelon sangria which rocked. The group worked well together and managed time well - roasting corn first, then the rest of the veggies, and finally the chicken. Most other groups finished way too early meaning that their chicken was dry and overcooked by the time it was ready to serve. By the end I was soaked in sweat, we did this all outside and I was exhausted from running around to the different stations and continuously going back for extra items, but our food was the best and we won the best food award. I totally felt justified and love that Section 4 came together like the rockstars that we are. This experience made me think maybe I should look at the food industry a little bit more seriously. Man, what a great way to begin my year. We even beat out one of the other sections who had a former professional chef.
Each section had to create a skit as well for entertainment and our entertainers killed making fun of the LA screenwriter who led our storytelling workshop. Our section took home best skit as well as best food. I love my section. Tonight, we celebrate our wins at the bar.
At times, I am afraid to take leadership but today, it felt great to lead my fellow students and to utilize the knowledge I have gleamed from numerous cooking reality shows and the Food Network. This experience is totally making me trust myself and my experiences more. I also love while other MBA programs are doing ropes courses (which we also did at Ross), the Ross school isn't all about the hypothetical or the unreal challenge. They make us apply what we learn in the real world and rise to the challenge or fail as a group. No other B-school I know of gives their students this type of opportunity for learning. It is going to be a great two years.