Cooking with a Dash of Magic: Tri-Wizard Cup Round One
Author Carlos Dorantes ’25 is a Food Business Management major.
Unwavering passion and the unrelenting pursuit of perfection took center stage at our New York campus. I was lucky enough to have participated in the 3rd annual Tri-Wizard Tournament—a fun, fast-paced competition in celebration of culinary and baking and pastry skills. The competition was open to every student on campus and over 200 passionate contestants signed up for this two-day decathlon-style tournament.
For the first-round students had three minutes to complete each task. The scoring factor was based on quality, accuracy, and timing of the finished product, extra points for finishing early. Culinary contestants for round one had to small dice an onion, peel and julienne a carrot, and finally trim and truss a whole chicken. Baking and pastry students engaged in a series of rigorous tasks, testing their abilities across diverse baking skills. This included intricate chocolate piping, precise Genoise cake slicing, and swift apple peeling and slicing. The atmosphere was electric and charged with anticipation! The crowd of fellow CIA students generated a spirited wave of cheers that resonated throughout the event. At the end of round one, the top three culinary and baking and pastry contestants were announced. The top 60 culinary and top 30 baking and pastry finalists moved on to round two and were sorted into three teams by the sorting hat, each team representing a special chef from history.
This tournament was a brilliant embodiment of our school’s unity. Each person played a vital role in showcasing our shared passion for the culinary arts while squeezing in a little bit of wizarding enchantment.