Page 15 of Cakes for the Grump

The top winner of this competition receives $100,000 as a cash prize, but that’s not all!The top three winners have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview to become a recipe developer for MealKit Masala, and will have their winning recipes featured in our annual email newsletter, sent out to over 1 million subscribers.

If you are a cook who gets inspired by food, you know visibility and word-of-mouth are an important part of establishing a career.

We know that in a sea of people who cook, how important it is for your recipes to reach a maximum number of people. But because it’s hard for most home cooks to get a platform big enough to be seen, they often end up having to give up on their culinary dreams.

This daring competition offers you the chance to showcase your talent with no barrier to entry, so you too can share your unique and tasty ideas with the world.

Change the trajectory of your future and ENTER NOW!

My hand holding up the phone shakes. It’s like this competition, Championing Unimaginable MealKits (CUM??) is speaking directly to me and is a panacea to solve all of my problems if I win.

With the money alone, I could afford my dad’s treatmentandhave money left over. How unimaginable. But then, there is this other prize. To interview to become a recipe developer for MealKits Masala?—

I shiver.

Recipe developer for a corporation is not exactly what I’d pinned on my future vision board, but it must involve pitching new food ideas, consistent improvement and the testing of those ideas, and discussing them in great detail with other passionate coworkers who love to objectively and academically assess the performance of a meal?—

I shiver again.

It’s everything.

A door forward.

My thumb moves across the screen of my phone, and the last page of the brochure flips over. There are instructions for the first round of the competition:Re-imagine a comfort food with your own twist on it.

I think:Oh, I can do that!

But then, I see it. The deadline for entering your submission for the first round of the competition is today.

How—

I can’t?—

It’s too?—

Looking around the kitchen, my mind races.

I’ve done the smoothie and lunch/dinner work already, but today is a cake day and that part hasn’t even been started. I message Kiren back.

ME

Did you know the deadline is today?!

KIREN

I know but please find a way to make it work if you can!

This is exactly your kind of competition and I have this feeling you would do amazing in it. I bet you must have so many ideas for this first round, considering all we ever eat is your versions of comfort food whenever we get together!

She lists Punjabi-style pizza, tarka spaghetti, and butter chicken grilled cheese as some of her past favorites.

The mini-list sparks me instantly. Like an old burner being creaked up, ideas start to heat up. Is it possible? Can I somehow pull this off?

I do a rough and dirty search on the internet, skimming articles on meal kits, coming to the conclusion that the best ones are graded on ease of preparation, method, and flavor.

Technically, still feeling inspired by Kiren’s suggestions, my Tandoori Mac ‘N’ Cheese fits those criteria…

It’s beloved by friends and family, and since I’ve made it so many times, all I have to do is execute the recipe, get it photographed beautifully, write up the step-by-step instructions, and then properly submit it all in the format of the competition guidelines—all while making a delicious cake on the side.