WFC Countdown or “What the HECK am I doing?”

Hi friends!

Oh my gosh! Things are getting down to the wire!

In three weeks (November 6th – 10th) I will be competing in the Dessert category at the World Food Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada!

Since finding out I was qualified, my brain has been spinning in circles trying to come up with dessert ideas, making ingredient lists, E-mailing and texting family and friends asking for taste testers, advice, support and prayers! The good news is, my heart has stopped leaping into my throat every time I talk about the competition. The bad news is, I need to come up with one more dish!

Am I freaking out?

Not a bit. (Totally lying!)

The next few weeks are going to be insane! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still pinch me excited about this opportunity! It’s going to be a crazy, amazing journey and I can’t wait to experience every single moment of this competition! How many people get to say they competed in the World Food Championships? I mean, aside from my fellow competitors (who are incredibly talented, BTW! You should read their bios!) As of today, we are 21 days away. Not that I’m counting… really, only 21 days?!? Ok, the heart-leaping might be back! Gahhhhhh! What am I going to make???

Breathe. Remember to breathe. The rest is a piece of cake.

Oh! Should I make cake? Brownies? Pie?

Let’s forget the last dish for a moment and talk “technical” stuff. The World Food Championships is the best of the best! The 2013 World Food Championships categories are BBQ, chili, burgers, sandwiches, bacon, dessert, and a recipe championship featuring winners of online recipe contests. You have to win, to get in! There are 50 competitors in each category. As you know, I’m in desserts. How will the Dessert portion of the WFC work? In the first round of competition, all 50 of us will be making a signature dessert and a required dessert (or “structured build” in competition speak!) There is a time limit. The signature dish must be turned in one and half hours after we start cooking. The signature dish can be anything we want (as long as it’s a dessert, of course!) The required dish is due just 45 minutes later. For the first round, the required dish is cookies. COOKIES! Can you believe it? Of all the things to make, this cookie-loving girl, gets to make cookies! That is one recipe I don’t have to worry about. I’ve got a winner that is hands-down delicious! Seriously!

What’s that?

No! I am not going to share the recipe (yet)! A girl needs a few secrets!

After the judging in the first round, the field will be narrowed to 10 finalists! Those ten people will compete again with a single required dessert that must be completed in two hours. The required element for this round is Dole pre-packaged fruit. As soon as I heard that, I knew EXACTLY what I was going to make! Nope! Not sharing that one either, but it’s amazing! (Don’t you love how I’m assuming I’ll be in the Top 10? If I’m going to dream, I’m going to dream BIG and bake BIG!!)

Once the champions of each category are crowned, they will meet at the Final Table where they will have to cook again and one lucky competitor will be left standing as the World Food Champion! It’s SO EXCITING!!!

Oh, did I mention the event is going to be televised? No pressure. It’s only my FIRST competition ever. I’ve got this! Who knew sending in one little ice cream recipe (my first ever entry into any type of recipe contest) would land me in a pond with the BIG FISH at the World Food Championships!

Because it will be on TV, the WFC organizers put out a casting call for people to follow prior to the event. It was a long hard decision to submit a video. It may have taken me three seconds to say “I’m IN!” Then, the evil little voice in my head took over, I chickened out and missed the first deadline. THEN, the other little voice in my head took over and she got mad! How could I come this far and NOT given the casting call an opportunity? So, I made a video and submitted it. When and if I ever feel really brave, I’ll share it with you. It’s fairly terrible, but HEY! It was my first video and I really didn’t have a CLUE what I was doing. To be fair, I learned a LOT and I’m excited to eventually make more videos.

To answer the question burning in your head right now, no. The casting people have not called. I can’t say I blame them and that’s ok! I tried. That’s all that matters! Besides, I’ll be nervous enough. Juggling three different desserts, two time frames, presentation plates, competing against 49 of the worlds best dessert makers, cooking outside, in a space I don’t know, stepping around camera crews, meeting celebrity judges, pots, pans, ovens, dishes, people watching me, and, and, and …

Breathe. Just breathe. The rest will be a piece of cake.

And we’re back to cake again…or cheesecake? Pudding? Cream Puffs? Oh my gosh! What am I going to make?

What the HECK am I doing?? Right now, I don’t know! I’m very excited to see what happens though!! Will you follow along with me? Maybe suggest a dessert idea or two? Or five? :-) I hope you will stay tuned for more posts about my final dessert decision, fun details about the event and how I’ll be practicing to beat the competition! SQUEEE! Wish me luck!

Go #TeamSara