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TWO COOKING BATTLES IN
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER!
BACK IN THE USSR:
THE GREAT CRUSADER COOK-OFF
AND, ANOTHER ALL-OUT, LIVE-ON-YOUTUBE, COOKING BATTLE...
A STUDENTS VS. STAFF GRUDGE MATCH LIVE ON YOUTUBE
TWO DATES:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
EPISODE 4 - STAFF VS. STAFF, CELEBRATING THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF ST. PETERSBURG
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025
EPISODE 5 - STUDENTS VS. STAFF, LIVE ON YOUTUBE
Over the course of the next few weeks, the Great Crusader Cookoff will enjoy two phenomenal events.
As the first, on Friday, September 26th, the Crusader staff will celebrate our Build Here, Build There partnership with the International Academy of St. Petersburg, as we enjoy and compete with Russian cuisine. We will also have the chance to hear from Joy Watson, an IASP administrator. See the details below.
For the second, it's the rematch we've been craving: from S3E2, we'll see our winning team of students facing off against two teams: a new team of students taking the NCS Online Culinary course, and a rematch with the teacher team they beat originally! This will all be done LIVE on YouTube for all to watch! And, the stakes will be high! In addition to cash prizes for the winning team members, if teachers win, it means a visit from one of our favorite coffee cart vendors and free coffee. If students win, it's free treats for every K-12 student! Again, details follow...
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2025
CELEBRATING THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF
ST. PETERSBURG IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
FIVE CHANCES TO WIN!
MULTIPLE WINNERS TO AWARD THOSE WITH THE GUTS TO TRY!
(THIS DATE IS A FACULTY ONLY COMPETITION.)
$1000 for 1st place
(One 1st place prize: the winner will be either a Russian dish or a 'food-within-a-food' dish)
$500 for 2nd place x 2
(Two 2nd place prizes: one Russian dish and one 'food-within-a-food' dish)
$250 for 3rd place x 2
(Two 3rd place prizes: one Russian dish and one 'food-within-a-food' dish)
As we celebrate the work of IASP and the impact of the NCS Build Here Build There project, we will be enjoying Russian cuisine! So, what constitutes Russian cuisine? Technically, with just a bit of guidance below, anything goes. Seriously, have some fun, be creative, and take a chance! And, in addition to Russian dishes, we will be honoring the Russian tradition of 'Nesting Dolls' (or, in Russian, "Matryoshka"). Each of these two types will enjoy separate judging and separate prize categories.
Here are the specifics:
(1) Food-within-a-food. In honor of the Russian nesting doll tradition, this includes any dish that you create which features one type of food 'stuffed' within another type of food. i.e. cupcakes will a cream cheese frosting center, stuffed bell peppers, stuffed mushrooms, dumplings, empanadas, stuffed pasta (like shells or ravioli), or stuffed flatbreads (such as paratha).
(2) Russian cuisine. Generally, Russian cuisine prominently features hearty dishes which include one or several Russian staples: potatoes, beets, rice, beef, pasta, and vegetables. Typical Russian dishes include:
- Soups
- Borscht: A popular beetroot-based soup, often served with a dollop of sour cream
- Solyanka: A thick, savory soup with a salty-sour base, featuring various meats and pickles
- Shchi: A simple, yet flavorful, cabbage soup
- Okroshka: A cold, refreshing soup made from kvass or kefir, with chopped vegetables, eggs, and meat
- Dumplings & Pastries
- Pelmeni: Small, boiled meat-filled dumplings, often served with butter or sour cream
- Vareniki: Similar to pelmeni, but often larger and can have sweet or savory fillings
- Pirozhki: Small baked or fried buns filled with meat, cabbage, or potatoes
- Main Dishes & Sides
- Beef Stroganoff: A classic dish of sautéed beef in a sour cream sauce
- Kasha: A simple porridge made from various grains, a common breakfast item
- Plov: A hearty rice and meat dish, similar to pilaf
- Syrniki: Small, fried pancakes made from cottage cheese
- Desserts
- Blini: Thin pancakes or crepes, served with sweet or savory toppings
- Medovik: A popular layered honey cake
Details:
- The competition is purely optional! If you don't participate, no one will think that you lack the courage! Please do not worry that anyone will consider your cowardice a character fault. You are IMAGO DEI, even if you are a chicken liver. Apparently, that is how God made you!
- Contestants may drop-off their dishes as early as 7:45am in the Don Sanderson Gymnasium. Drop-off continues until 10:45am. As you drop off your dish, you will use a notecard to identify your dish and another for your name.
- The school will not provide a means of keeping dishes cool or warm. But, there will be power cords to connect your own crockpots, etc.
- The school will provide all of the plates, bowls, table service, etc.
- Contestants should bring their own means of serving their dish. (i.e. spatula, knife, spoon, etc.)
- Judging will feature three celebrity judges and will take place between 10:45am and 11:30am.
- Lunch will be served in the Don Sanderson Gymnasium from 11:45am to 12:45pm.
- Winners will be announced at 12:15pm.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025
A LIVE-ON-YOUTUBE REMATCH WITH
TWO STUDENT TEAMS VS. ONE TEACHER TEAM!
$500 for each member of the winning team
$50 for each contestant
High stakes! If teachers win, it's a day of free coffee from one of our favorite coffee carts! If students win, it's free lunch treats for every K-12 student!
Details:
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On Monday, October 20th, these three teams will assemble at the Sweet Basil Culinary Center at 6:00pm and prepare to go LIVE on YouTube (NCS-Plus.com) at 6:30pm.
- These three teams have been predetermined based on previous participation and enrollment within the NCS Online Culinary course. However, if you are an interested student, we will be assembling a new and different group of students to represent Northwest Christian in a March 2026 Great Crusader Cookoff competition against three other schools! Keep you eye on GreatCrusaderCookoff.com for more info on this to come in November.
- The three teams will each be given identical baskets consisting of ingredient various ingredients. The teams will then have 60 minutes to work together in order to plan and prepare a dish - of any type, ethnicity, or variety - that includes each of the mystery ingredients.
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At the end of the 60 minutes, the dishes must be plated and presented to a panel of judges. Two of these judges will be professional chefs from the Sweet Basil Culinary Center. The third will be one of the facilitators/subject matter experts from the NCS Online Culinary course. Judging criteria will be presented to the contestants at the same time as the ingredients.
- Each contestant will receive a $50 Amazon gift card for having the courage to compete. Each member of the winning team will earn a $500 cash prize.
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