Great Reedie Bake-Off: The Final Chapter

Three teams walked into Commons on Monday, steeling themselves in preparation for the battle of the semester: the Great Reedie Bake-Off’s third and final round. Prior to that afternoon, the remaining teams — Aries 24 Kitchen, 3:44 a.m. UberEats, and Shortbread Shorter Kings — each prepared one dish inspired by the theme “Something Olde, Something Neu”, which encouraged each team to create a dish that encapsulated who they are as a team. Aries 24 Kitchen made a Baked Alaska, which they proceeded to light on fire in Commons, wowing the judges and the crowd. 3:44 a.m. UberEats baked rosemary Mexican wedding cookies with a chocolate ganache drizzle and candied pecans to celebrate their team’s shared Latinx heritage, as well as a rich Italian mint panna cotta with a raspberry coulis and glazed blackberries (although they originally intended to make flan — none of them are Italian). Shortbread Shorter Kings baked what they deemed “Napoleon on Vacation”, their original take on a classic Napoleon, which consisted of three layers of puff pastry: a guava-flavored mascarpone on the bottom, a lime-flavored mascarpone in the middle, and topped-off with feathered icing. 

Shortbread Shorter Kings team member Salma Huque said, “Our team was united over the fact that we’re (mostly) seniors, who decided to take the time we could be working on thesis, or applying for jobs, in order to actively spend time together and create something.”

But the sweet treats didn’t end there. Unlike the two previous challenges, this round also required a live bake-off to test the bakers’ technical skills. Upon arrival, each team was greeted by a table and a set of ingredients. The teams utilized Commons’s kitchen, using the Grill’s deep fryers to make their live bake-off challenge: churros. The round was judged by senior Alyse Cronk, Interim Dean of Students Cindy Anderson, and a Bon Appétit representative.

Despite tough competition, students Isaac Gray, Chae Park, and Io Blanchett’s team, Aries 24 Kitchen, reigned supreme, leaving 3:44 a.m. UberEats and Shortbread Shorter Kings in their floury dust, thus concluding the annual Great Reedie Bake-Off. That’s all folks! Until next year.