EVENT DETAILS

CHOPPED Cooking Challenge

Calling all students, staff, and faculty! Due to popular demand, we are hosting our second CHOPPED Cooking Challenge using four mystery ingredients! Judges will select one winner for each of the four participant groups (undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, and staff). The CHOPPED winners each will receive a $75 Amazon gift card.

2/10 (Wed), 8am PST: Contestants will receive the list of 4 mystery ingredients via email

2-10 (Wed) - 2/16 (Tues): Contestants will submit a title and a short description for their dish along with 4 photos: 1) 4 mystery ingredients, 2) process of cooking, 3) selfie with the final dish, and 4) final dish. Submissions will be sent to isep-due@uci.edu.

2/17 (Wed), 5pm PST: Judges will evaluate each contestant's dish LIVE

Register here for the mystery ingredients:
https://forms.gle/BwXvgmsULSc1o6E26  

Meet the Winners of our first CHOPPED challenge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVKXlPf9XGE

What to see how it works? You can watch the Fall contest here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNO_T7mozK4

Dr. Sei Lee-moderator
Dr. Sei Lee is currently a Counselor/Coordinator for the International Student Excellence Programs and a research affiliate for the Program in Academic English at UCI. Her research focuses on literacy development and the college experience of multilingual students and the issues around biases/stereotypes of this population of students. Sei graduated from Claremont Graduate University and earned her PhD in Higher Education. She has previously taught in the Program in Academic English and Composition Program at UCI for the past five years. She is interested in and very passionate about helping multilingual students with all aspects of their experience in the US. As a bilingual herself, she hopes to make each student included and engaged in the campus community irrespective of their language and cultural backgrounds.

Chef Jessica Van Roo- Judge
Jessica is the Director of Culinary Education at UCI where she teaches culinary classes to students, staff, and other corporate clients. Jessica is also spearheading the discussion of food on the UCI campus through “Conversation Kitchen,” as well as Illuminations “Cooking with the Professors,” programs. Recently Jessica has also helped develop the Culinary Medicine Curriculum on UCI campus that is taught to medical students. She is currently developing advanced culinary courses for young learners and the public.

Professor Yong Chen-Judge
Professor Yong Chen has done extensive research on the intersection of contemporary Sino-American economic and cultural interactions. He has given public lectures at business schools in the U.S. and China and worked with numerous transnational corporations, such as IFC of the World Bank and Haier. His long-standing research on food in American culture has received much attention and recognition across the nation. He has been invited to give lectures across the U.S. and China and in Germany, by professional organizations such as the International of Association of Culinary Professionals and universities such as Yale University. His food research has been featured in such periodicals as The Chronicle of Higher Education and the Orange County Register, U.S. News and World Report, Los Angeles Times, St. Louis Riverfront Times, Saveur, and New York Times. He is the co-curator of a museum exhibit on the history of Chinese restaurants in the U.S. in the Museum of Chinese in the Americas.

Adeeva Meyers- Judge
Adeeva Meyers won in the “Staff” category in our Fall CHOPPED challenge. Adeeva is a Southern California native from the city of Carson. She earned her Bachelors of Arts degree in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley and completed her Masters of Education degree in Educational Counseling from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California. While an undergrad, Adeeva participated in various leadership roles on campus including working as a Resident Assistant and being a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. She has extensive experience in college access, previously working with organizations such as TRiO Upward Bound and the USC College Advising Corp where she assisted majority low income, first generation students in applying and enrolling into college. As a product of an under-resourced high school, Adeeva understands the plight of students needing added support in their efforts to achieve within higher education. Her goal is to see our education system grow into a more equitable institution where students of all backgrounds can achieve equally. Therefore, she is dedicated to helping cultivate young lives concerning their academic, personal, and professional success.