The Team that Bakes Together, Plays Together

No, that’s not the Art Institute’s motto (though it very well could be). Recently, the D-line has been meeting outside of practice (and parties) to promote team cohesiveness. Events have included dinner at Zorba’s, making valentines for the O-Line, and, most recently, a bakeoff.

Project Cakeway began as the brainchild of Pavan and Dave. Inspired by Heidi Klum, we split up into three teams of six and had one week to prepare our delicacies. Three impartial judges were chosen to decide which D-liners had the potential to succeed in the culinary arts: Zubair, Joel, and Pat. They were instructed to judge each cake on three categories: taste, presentation/creativity, and technical difficulty.

Cake 1

Team 1 (order decided by ro sham bo) built a double layer, funfetti cake with a made-from-scratch strawberry filling. The cake had a light vanilla taste mixed with a creamy strawberry sensation. The team designed the cake in the style of the Chicago Flag since March 4^th marked the 171^st birthday of the city. Unfortunately, none of the judges hailed from the Windy City. The city skyline was built into the side of the cake using twizzlers. The skyline was constructed to scale.

Cake 2

Team 2 chose to use the brute force method. They created a volcano cake using 3 boxes of triple chocolate cake, 2 boxes of funfetti, banana cream pudding, sprinkles, and candy. Had they put in more time, it might have looked decent, but since they started baking it the morning of the competition, the cake looked more like a blob than a volcano. It was still an impressive cake. The mere size of it caused wide eyes from everyone in the room. When asked why they chose a volcano, Pavan answered in words that will go down in Project Cakeway history, “Our team is very diverse. Some of us like Apple Juice; others like Orange Juice. Lions and Tigers. It’s our versatility that defines us. So when I thought versatility, I thought volcano.”

Cake 3

Team 3 named their cake The Darkness. Needless to say, it was a dense chocolate cake. Team 3 opted for a round layer cake with a brownie and Hershey bar filling. Cutting slices required more effort than any normal cake. A thick and rich taste filled up any normal man with just a small piece. It was drenched in chocolate frosting, and a likeness of “The Darkness” adorned the top of the cake in purple icing.

The Competition

Each team gave a 2 minute presentation, and then the judges ate a slice. Each judge gave a 1 to 10 score on each of the three categories. Kyle tallied the scores. Volcano came in 3^rd with 80 points. The Darkness took 2^nd with 81 points. Chicago took the cake with 81.5 points. Volcano won on presentation. Darkness won taste. Chicago won technical difficulty.

The winner!

Why we have the best weather

March has arrived, and for those of you that don’t know, it comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. Here in Illinois, it usually comes in like a polar bear and out like an even bigger polar bear. Wind, sleet, hail, snow, wind, wind, wind, even more wind, rain, tornado, did I say wind yet? Such conditions are not ideal for playing ultimate. We tend to associate ultimate with warm beaches and sunny days, and Central Illinois doesn’t have either.

We are indeed blessed; however, many of us turn this blessing into a curse. We don’t take advantage of our elements. We go through some of the toughest workouts, but the thought of throwing when it’s cold out shakes our nerve (we want hot chocolate, a blanket, and our cartoons). Take a moment and close your eyes (but after you’re done reading this paragraph, since I won’t be able to talk you through the rest of this exercise if you can’t read). Now imagine developing a sick 40 yard huck while your hand is frozen and the wind is blowing at 30mph in your face. Now imagine having that throw occur when we play in warm, sunny Atlanta or Austin.

It’s been quite some time since someone has emailed the list for a throwing session. This great weather isn’t gonna last much longer. The next time you hear sirens go off, don’t cower in the basement. Grab a disc and a friend and head outside. You aren’t gonna get better by loafing around the armory. Bring it on Mother Nature, bring it on!