WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., March 26, 2018 — You might like to cook, but do you like it enough to compete on live TV?
WLU broadcasting students started a new competition for cooking aficionados that puts two chefs in the kitchen with a challenge to create a meal in a limited amount of time. The show aired its first episode March 7 on WLU-TV 14 and continues every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
The inaugural episode of the College Cooking Challenge was produced by junior broadcasting major Chad Richards and the menu was breakfast, with the winning recipe of bacon and eggs prepared by student Chelsea Williams.
A criminal justice major, Williams is active in Student Government Association where she serves as vice president and is from Follansbee, W.Va. The second competing chef was student Rachel Galish. After the judge tried the food and made the official decision, all students participating could taste the dishes.
“I really enjoy the creativeness and the competitive aspect of this project,” said Taylor Long, one of the TV crew members working on the show.
“Students should enter the competition not just because there is a chance to win a gift card, but because it’s a fun experience that I think will stay with them for years,” she said. Long is a senior broadcasting student and an anchor for another TV 14 show, Newsline 14.
College Cooking Challenge continues every week until Commencement and prizes are gift cards to local restaurant Ye Olde Alpha.
Besides entertaining the viewers and participants, the new cooking show also has an educational purpose and is a result of the Broadcast Practicum class, taught by Professor Christian Lee.
“ I came up with this idea during my sabbatical leave,” said Lee, who is an associate professor of communications.
“Live student programming is my number one goal for students in this class. This gives them experience working on the type of activities that they will be expected to know upon graduation.”
Students fill all crew positions on the show and rotate their roles each week to get the most real life experience from the project.
“Working on this show, you learn how things can go wrong and how to fix them on air and behind the scenes. It’s a real world experience, and it prepares me and other students for the future,” Long said.
Technical problems, however, are not the hardest part of planning the show.
“Many students are camera shy. So it may be challenging to find people willing to come on the show and participate,” Long said. The show returned after a spring break hiatus on March 21.
Viewers can watch WLU-TV 14 online at wltvonline.com.
Besides the television studio located in the WLU Media Arts Center, WLU-TV 14 also includes a full high definition production studio truck for travel.
WLU-TV 14 is part of the College of Arts and Communication which includes the departments of Music, Theatre, Visual Art and Journalism & Communications. For more information on WLU, please call 1.866.WESTLIB or visit westliberty.edu.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an edited version of the original story which first appeared in the student newspaper, The Trumpet.