Residence Life hosted a Top Chef competition at Billy Blues Alumni Sports Grill on Valentine’s Day, offering teams the chance to show off master baking skills.

The program aimed to help students who live, or are planning to live, off-campus and in apartments with cooking and baking skills. Residence Life programming throughout the year includes a life skills component, and Kristen Rappolo, the Resident Director of the apartment communities, thought a Valentine’s Day competition would be the perfect setting.

Rappolo said she encouraged participation in the program, looking to make “cooking fun” and “Play a little on Valentine’s Day as a date. Couples could participate, go out for dinner and then have a cake to take home at the end of the night.”

The competition featured a cake decorating competition, pasta competition and a trivia night. “If you can cook, do the competitions. If not, then trivia,” Rappolo said.

The cake decorating featured teams of two who were scored based on four categories: theme, creativity, aesthetics and their use of ingredients. One of the teams in the competition, “Ice, Ice, Baking,” consisted of Arts and Sciences juniors Emily Mauser and Anna Weirick, who chose women’s health as their theme. The cake featured a pink ribbon and was red in honor of Go Red For Women. The competition was a good way to celebrate Valentine’s Day with friends according to Mauser.

The pasta competition gave teams pre-cooked pasta and an alfredo or marinera sauce. The teams were given ingredients that could enhance the pasta, such as garlic, basil, meats and vegetables.

Sixteen teams signed up for the competition, with prizes for the winners. The cake competition winners were rewarded with cooking-related prizes like a Keurig or a Crock Pot, and the pasta winner will have their dish be the March Special of the Month at Billy Blues.