We faced many difficulties when we were preparing the macaroons.
The original shape of the macaroons was triangular, and we found it very hard
to perfect the triangular shape. The shape turned out very different from how
it was supposed to look, but fortunately it still looked presentable.
We also had problems with the oven provided at the event venue as
it was different from the ones we were used to. The macaroons, which usually
took 16-20 minutes to turn golden-brown, were baked in 5 minutes. Fortunately,
the inside of the macaroons turned out fine.
Upon reflection, we could have spent more time to improve on the
decorations of the table to accompany our dishes. The other schools had put a
lot of thought and effort into the presentation of their dishes. Their tables
were so nicely decorated but since we were more focused on the preparation of
our dishes, we overlooked the presentation aspect. We had to do some last
minute work to make our presentation table look more presentable.
Although we did not get into the final round of the competition,
it was an amazing experience and we really had fun! Despite the challenges
faced, it was fun preparing the food together and trying out each other’s’
dishes, giving compliments and useful feedbacks to improve on our dishes. In
our hearts, we know we had done ourselves proud.
(Jia Yi & Qi Yi)
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Who knew that one day we would be presenting
to a panel of judges about a dish we did not know existed two weeks earlier? This
challenge truly opened up our eyes to the opportunities ahead of us.
We prepared a traditional Malay dish,
Sesagun, together at home. Sesagun is made of uncooked rice with coconut and
other ingredients fried to a golden brown finish. It was really
difficult to find the recipe for the Sesagun online and we had to search for
the cookbook by Mrs Wee Eng Hwa at the library.
After practicing, we finally knew
how to prepare our dish. We could not help but feel proud of the Sesagun we
prepared ourselves and brought to the competition venue in intricately designed
paper.
After South Division completed their segment, we
started preparing the decorations and practicing our scripts. We were very
anxious as it was our first time participating in a cooking competition. As we looked at the nicely decorated tables of the
other teams, we could not help feeling a pinch of jealousy. Although at the
back of our minds we knew that we would not stand a chance of entering the
finals, we still did our very best. Everything turned out better than
expected.
This whole experience was enjoyable
and fun. Not winning, was not an issue. The unforgettable experience bonded us a
Guides family. We forged better friendships and learned a lot of valuable
experience. We hope to have more chances to participate in such competitions in
the future.
Chung Cheng Girl Guides No. 1:)
(Hannah & Seow Khim)
