Loaded Ladle brings cooking competition to the SUB

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, a familiar sight appears in Dalhousie’s Student Union Building: a line stretches out from the cafeteria to the lobby as students wait for free lunches served by the Loaded Ladle.

This Tuesday, though, the volunteer-based food co-op is stirring the pot with a change in their regular routine – it will be the first day of the Iron Ladle Competition, a cooking contest in which aspiring chefs of all experience levels are invited to participate.

“No tears, no drama, just delicious free food,” reads the competition’s Facebook page.

On March 3, 10 and 17, teams of three to five students will be serving meals and menus of their own inspiration at the Ladle’s spot in the SUB cafeteria, starting at 1 p.m.

“It’s a good way for folks to get experience with cooking, and the competition makes it a bit more fun, says Su Donovaro, solidarity serving coordinator and financial officer for the Loaded Ladle.

Anyone can register a team — individuals without teams are encouraged to register and be added to a team.

Interested student chefs will be provided with the ingredients and materials they need, and the usual Ladle crew will be around for support. And if you intend on participating, you’ll want to start thinking of a catchy team name now.

Since 2012, the levied student society has brought locally-sourced vegan food to various spots on Studley, Carleton and Sexton campuses. They also provide local organizations and events with “solidarity servings”, their free catering service.

Donovaro says the Loaded Ladle isn’t just based around food, they want to give students a chance to see how consensus-based and cooperative organizations work.

“If someone’s like, ‘I want to write a zine about food,’ or the Iron Ladle competition, or ‘Can we do a solidarity serving for this shelter?’ – we’re open to whatever, really,” says Donovaro.

The rules of the Iron Ladle Competition are not yet set in stone. Each week, students served in the SUB will have the opportunity to cast votes. The voting system hasn’t been specified yet, but every team that participates will win a prize.

What are the prizes? You’ll have to find out for yourself.

“It’s going to be food-related,” says Donovaro. “That’s all I can say.”

You can loadedladle@gmail.com to register for the competition, and find out more about volunteering opportunities with the Loaded Ladle on their website.