Christy Matte

I might as well put it out there that I am a reality TV addict. And, no, I’m not the slightest bit embarrassed by it. I’m intrigued by human behavior, even when it’s showcased at it’s worst. It probably gives me a warped sense of the world, but it’s not much worse than the crime shows I watch with my husband.

One of my absolute favorite shows is the Food Challenge on the Food Network Channel. Of course, I only really like the challenges that have to do with desserts. I’m just not interested enough in chicken or BBQ unless I’m eating dinner! In any case, the most recent episode paired up two pastry chefs who had no professional relationship to one another. They were challenged to design a cake based on a famous nursery rhyme. Then, they were split up and allowed to work on the cake individually in one and a half hour shifts with no communication between members of the team. Only during the last hour and a half could they work together to finalize the vision. As in any team project, there was typically one chef who pushed their vision through and walked all over the other chef. I was actually surprised at just how unprofessional some of their behavior was. It would certainly make me think twice about going to that person for a cake…

This particular challenge reminded me of the round robin writing exercises we used to do in school. One person starts a story and then passes it off to the next person, who adds their own little bit. This goes around until everyone in the group has contributed. I always enjoyed seeing what other people had to add, but there was always a boy (yes, I said it – a boy) who felt the need to insert murder or mayhem into the tale. Sometimes it was a clever twist, but usually it was just kind of a gory cliche’.

Blood and guts aside, I think it would be fun to do a blogging round robin, fiction or non-fiction. Maybe we just won’t invite any boys to participate (just kidding, guys – after all, Stephen King is racking in the money!)