ProStart 3 Competes in Cupcake Wars

Junior+Zion+Lewis+ices+cupcakes+for+her+team+in+North%E2%80%99s+first+ProStart+3+Cupcake+Wars+on+Jan.+31.Winners+will+be+announced+on+Tuesday%2C+Feb.+4.%0A

Junior Zion Lewis ices cupcakes for her team in North’s first ProStart 3 Cupcake Wars on Jan. 31.Winners will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 4.

On Jan. 31, Prostart 3 participated in the first-ever  Cupcake Wars style competition at Parkway North. The Prostart 3 students were tasked with making some delicious cupcakes for a panel of judges to vote on. 

“It’s something I’ve always thought about doing because I’ve seen another FACS teacher do it in their dessert unit, but we ran out of time. Then, I thought it would be kind of cool to have a battle with this upcoming chapter,” said Prostart 3 teacher Becky Samardzic. 

The contestants were broken up into teams tasked with making cupcakes while incorporating two secret ingredients from a different part of the United States. 

“My group was given the Southwest region, so we utilized caramel and cinnamon due to Native American and Mexican roots,” said senior AJ Davies.

While the incorporation of secret ingredients was a major component, Samardzic had other clear criteria for her students as well.

“They get evaluated on their special ingredients – whether you can taste it and the overall taste;their icing, flavor, texture; and  the presentation of the product – the decorations and how they garnish it,” said Samardzic.

Each group made and presented a box of cupcakes  to the judging panel. The judges included Samardzic, the ProStart 3’s cadet teacher, and other staff members who were invited by the competing teams themselves.

Some kitchen groups faced challenges while trying to perfect their cupcakes, especially regarding taste and texture.

“The groups made their cupcakes the class before so that they would be cool on the day of the cupcake war, but three of the five groups remade cupcakes on the day of during Ac Lab because their cupcakes either didn’t taste good or didn’t cook how they wanted them to,” said senior Christa Sauer, cadet teacher for ProStart 3 and one of the judges of the Cupcake War.

Teams had to make the icing and decorate the cupcakes during class, attempting to present them similar to that of professional bakers. Sauer was impressed with all the final products.

“I really enjoyed looking at all of the boxes they created. Everyone went above and beyond with them which was surprising to me. I also obviously really liked trying the cupcakes, and it helped me try new and different flavors that I wouldn’t have tried otherwise,” said Sauer.

Since many groups produced beautiful cupcakes, the competition was quite stiff.

“The biggest struggle was probably how perfect the cupcake had to be to win because winning it all is not a cakewalk,” said Davies. 

Samardzic will announce the winner of cupcake wars on Tuesday.