Can I come to the yams? The cooking food battle at Cafe Mac was a complete success.

There are two things that really pique my interest: food and competition. When you put the two together, you end up with a unique opinion piece from yours truly.

Sweet potatoes, yams, whatever you want to call the honeyed orange tubers, you’re either a lover or a hater. Growing up, I was the latter. Now I’m the former, and so are the chefs at Cafe Mac, who were tasked with competing in a grueling “food battle” with the amazing tubers and legume of their choice.

At the Food Fight, which took place on November 21st, chefs from four stations (Garlic & Basil, Warm & Soulful, Near & Far and Simple & Secure) competed for the title of Food Fight Champion.

Here is my verdict.

First Place: Vegan White Bean Alfredo Pasta (Garlic and Basil, Figure 1)

Let’s be honest: I was afraid of this dish at first. Maybe it was the word “vegan” or maybe one of the other words (“Alfredo”?), but ordering this dish required this carnivorous Italian to take a few deep breaths.

I watched anxiously as the creamy, bean-like rigatoni was garnished with a sprinkle of fresh chopped chives and pepitas – a fancy name for pumpkin seeds. Did I think these toppings were a little strange? Yes. Especially the pepitas… But when I took a bite, all I can say is that I was shocked. The white bean sauce was decadent, herbal and perfectly seasoned by Cafe Mac. And while I find the term “vegan Alfredo” to be somewhat of an oxymoron, the rich vegetable broth and partially blended white beans really created the makeshift cream sauce of my dreams. The chives added some sharp green to the dish, and I dare say the pepitas managed to add some much-needed bite to the pasta.

But wait! I don’t think I forgot the sweet potatoes. These were merely a supporting character to the star of the show (the pasta), paler in flavor but equally inventive. The potatoes were diced, then perhaps boiled, before being garnished with blood orange concentrate. While the blood orange had some citrus complexity, the sweet potatoes were undercooked and lukewarm.

Overall: 8/10

Second Place: Southwest Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Beef and Rice Skillet (Warm & Soulful, Figure 2)

Hey, what’s not to like here? With rice, seasoned beef, and starchy vegetables, this dish had me eating bite after bite and barely having any room to breathe. The rice was hot and there was steaming, gooey cheese everywhere. Pleasant, but overall heavy and a little unimaginative.

The beef was seasoned with something that tasted almost exactly like Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, and the sweet potatoes were so hidden that I forgot they even existed. None of these criticisms are necessarily a bad thing, but rather a minor flaw in a competition that, in my opinion, concerns creativity and local products.

Overall: 6/10

Third Place: Shrimp Paella with Glazed Yams (Near and Far, Figure 3)

First of all, this will NOT be a criticism that this dish was NOT authentic paella. This is a given – we’re in a college cafeteria. Maybe it’s the recent Thanksgiving spirit, but unfortunately I remain grateful that we even have opportunities like this at Macalester College.

I’ll start with the highlight of the dish: the yams. They were drowned in butter and sugar and melted in the mouth when touched. Yummy.

Unfortunately, the paella was quite boring. The mushy rice and mostly sliced ​​peppers created an unpleasant mouthfeel that didn’t go with the plump shrimp as hoped.

Overall: 5/10 (Best Yam Award)

Contrary to my personal opinion, there was an official winner of the Food Fight competition. The station whose chef’s dish received the most votes from hungry Scots was Warm & Soulful, with its south-western fry-up.

Although I oppose this outcome, I appreciate the friendly competition and even more inviting food that I and countless other Scots enjoyed on this evening of metaphorical food fights.

Figure 1: Vegan White Bean and Sweet Potato Alfredo Pasta with Blood Orange Glaze