Entrepreneurship students at the SBM-ITB of 2023 participated in the Cooking Project for the StartUp Business Practice course in the parking lot of the SBM ITB Building on Thursday (2/3). In this activity, students must use pumpkin as a basic ingredient for their cooking.
According to the lecturer in the StartUp Business Practice course, Amilia Wulansari, the Cooking Project is to provide practice-based experiences to students. Amilia hopes that the Cooking Project can improve students’ soft skills and hone their ability to calculate the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) from the menu they create.
“This is an innovation from the SBP course. Previously, they were only studied in class. This year, we want students to practice directly. So they gain experience and knowledge, and it is also fun,” said Amilia.
According to Amilia, all team members had never worked together before. She is happy and proud because almost all team members are working, and communication between them is smooth.
Amilia gave students one hour to cook a menu using pumpkin. Assessment refers to menu creativity, cooking process, attractive appearance, cost-effectiveness, and taste. SBM also invited Zartika Zahra, a former Masterchef Indonesia participant, and ITB MBA alumni, as a guest judge for this Cooking Project.
This Cooking Project produces several dishes. The Punkin team, for example, cooked Manado Porridge and Sambal Roa. The team had conducted experiments before and found the Manado porridge from pumpkin was delicious
Guest Jury Zartika Zahra admitted that she was surprised by the dishes presented by the students. They managed to create extraordinary menus, unlike those ordinary food made of pumpkin. She originally expected that everyone would cook dessert. Interestingly, some cook main dishes, such as Japanese Chicken Curry, using pumpkins as one of the main ingredients.
The winner of the Cooking Project is the Labuan Bajo Team, who serve Gnocchi.
Gnocchi is a type of pasta made from potatoes. Gnocchi is usually prepared with a creamy sauce and peas. The team modified everything from pasta to sauces to chicken marinades, with pumpkin as the main ingredient. The jury considered this food to be unique and stand out from the menu served by the other participants.
Rizki Firman Maulana, a representative from the Labuan Bajo team, admitted that he did not believe they won this competition. From determining the menu and dividing the work to cooking, they felt they were lacking. They were often panic-stricken. Undercooked pasta lowered their confident in their cooking.