Hunger Games Victory

Photo by Tara Witten
Photo by Tara Witten

Earlier this month, our resident chef, Ben Witten, mentored a team from GrayHair Software to victory in “The Hunger Games”, a charity cooking event that raised $15,000 to support child nutrition programs at the Food Bank of South Jersey.

The contest provided seven teams with a typical box of food from the food bank. Audience members could also “buy” (i.e., make a donation) additional items to help their favorite team.

The GrayHair Software team produced a breakfast hash that they called GrayHair Sunrise:

“We made an autumn vegetable hash with apples and topped with a sunny side up egg, sprinkled with basil and feta.” – Valerie Capasso, GrayHair Software (Kelly Roncace in South Jersey Times)

The dish surprised the judges by surprise with the simple elegance of its flavors.

As Ben’s brother, I am not surprised. I can see his influence as a team mentor. While I have never had this particular dish, I have had eaten many varieties of vegetable hash that he has prepared for breakfast. They are simple. They are elegant. They are flavorful. And, they all taste like victory.

SOURCE: South Jersey Times (Kelly Roncace) and my proud sister-in-law.

Hunger Games and Teenage Angst in the New Yorker

I read this one when it came out back in 2010, but The New Yorker is highlighting it today to capitalize on the Hunger Games movie release:

“Fresh Hell”, Laura Miller:

…dystopian stories for adults and children have essentially the same purpose—to warn us about the dangers of some current trend. That’s certainly true of books like “1984” and “Brave New World”; they detail the consequences of political authoritarianism and feckless hedonism. This is what will happen if we don’t turn back now, they scold, and scolding makes sense when your readers have a shot at getting their hands on the wheel. Continue reading “Hunger Games and Teenage Angst in the New Yorker”

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