Red Cross Emergency Cook-Off

A couple of weeks ago (time flies!), the girls and I attended a cook-off outside Charlottetown Walmart. The Canadian Red Cross organized this event by inviting four local chefs and challenging them to cook a meal in 25 minutes. The chefs were paired up with sous-chefs. The sous-chefs were professionals from the community. The meal was cooked on a camp stove (no power during an emergency) and with only non-perishable food items. 

The chefs first had to shop for their items, planning their meals as they shopped. They only had twenty minutes to complete this. Once that task was finished, they moved outside to start cooking. 

They were making an appetizer, an entree and a dessert. It was really interesting to watch each group work at this, preparing a "gourmet" meal on a camp stove with non-perishable foods. 

The Chefs waiting to start..

and they're cooking! 

Each dish was tasted and scored by a panel of judges. The meals all looked good, and each chef team won one of the categories. This was a friendly competition. The message was clear to us, be prepared in case of emergency with non-perishable food items, as well as the fact that you can still eat tasty meals even if the power is out! 

Here are some helpful links for emergency preparedness:

Get Prepared from the Government of Canada

Emergency Preparedness for Kids  (helping kids how to prepare and cope)

Another Emergency Preparedness for Kids (this one with games/activities from FEMA)