In the middle of this year’s homecoming week, under the afternoon sun, picnic tables and Adirondack chairs were set up, surrounded by five Greek life organizations. With a line of people massing, this was none other than the Mac and Cheese Cook-off. United in the blazing September heat, these five organizations gathered outside in the Student Union Commons and competed with their various cheese blends and secret spices. 

The Student Government Association organized the cookoff, where competing teams were judged on their signature mac and cheese recipe. The five groups were the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Omega Delta Psi Fraternity, Chi Omega Sorority, Kappa Delta Sorority, and a combined team, featuring the Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity, Alpha

 Delta Pi Sorority, Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Iota Phi Theta Fraternity. For the competition, a panel of six judges was put together. One judge, Matthew Olsen, explained the criteria on which the teams would be rated.

 “The first one was taste and texture, the second one was presentation, and the last one was school spirit,” Olsen said. “Lots of points were given out for presentation for sure.”

Each team put up a strong fight and showed pride in their organizations with giant wooden cutouts of their organization’s Greek

letters. The Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity cooks, Ty Dawlly and Sawyer Seymour, wore chef hats and MTSU aprons. They decorated their tent with lightning bolts, streamers and balloons.

The Chi Omega Sorority highlighted their mac and cheese with three different batches: two signature recipes and a classic cheesy Thanksgiving style. Ava Lanier, a chef for the Chi Omega Sorority, described her signature recipe in detail.

 “It was a six cheese macaroni,” Lainer said before listing off some of the ingredients: pepperjack, sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, “a thing of hot cheeto dust,” Mozzarella, and Gouda.”

Each team provided a unique flavor. Some groups smoked their batch with hints of spice, creating a diverse, interesting flavor. Others were more elegant and restrained, focusing on texture.

“Every single group had their own flavor profile; they were all so different,” Olsen said. “Everyone did such a nice job decorating. The fraternities and sororities all brought out their letters. It always looks great with a turnout like this.”

The event slowed down about 30 minutes in when groups started to run out of mac and cheese. Many students stayed and enjoyed the music and company as the night went on. One student in attendance, Cade Compton, was sitting at a table while his friends were line dancing.

“[The mac and cheese cook-off] has a pretty good vibe,” Compton said. 

SGA’s homecoming director, Sydney Barnett, was surprised by the turnout. Given this event’s past challenges, like the COVID-19 pandemic, Barnett wanted to revive the event this year.  The event still has a lot of room to grow, but given the circumstances of an earlier homecoming and a rocky history in years prior, Barnett sees the event as a success, signaling it could return next year.

“I have hope that the future homecoming directors can continue this tradition,” Barnett said.

The event wrapped up a little early as groups began to take down their stands. The winner of the cook-off will be announced on Saturday, Sept. 20, during the Party in the Grove event, before the football game against Marshall University.