By Sarah Knepp, For The Miami Student
Three Miami students and an alumnus received a local honor last week: their culinary creation was put on the Bagel & Deli menu.
The Bagel & Deli competition last Thursday, in which teams of students could create an original bagel, was hosted by Late Night Miami program. The winning bagel would then be featured on the Bagel & Deli menu for the duration of the semester and, if it sold well, permanently.
According to Late Night Miami event coordinator Anna Bunting, eight teams competed in the competition.
Late Night Miami provided a list of ingredients, including different types of bagels, meats, cheeses, sauces, toppings and spreads to allow teams to plan out their flavor profiles and prepare them for what would be available at the competition.
Amber Logemann and her teammates came up with their creation, the Horny Jalapeño, from this list.
Logemann heard about this competition and knew that she had to sign herself and her friend up.
Almost immediately, Logemann texted Kylie McChesney '15 about this exciting opportunity.
Logemann and McChesney recruited two other friends, sophomore Kat Lee and junior Jenna Jones, to try and come up with the perfect bagel.
"We had never tried this combination together but knew that once they put it through the steamer, Bagel & Deli would make it taste amazing no matter what. "
The Horny Jalapeño features a jalapeño bagel topped with sausage, bacon, Colby and Pepper Jack cheeses, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, avocado and hot sauce.
When it came time for the competition, the four friends decided to split up into teams of two for maximum bagel-creating opportunities: Logemann and McChesney were one team, while Jones and Lee were on the other. However, all four of them contributed to the creative process behind the actual winning bagel.
"Kylie came up with the name, I drew the sign and all four of us came up with the perfect ingredients to create a new and exciting bagel to go along with the name," Logemann said.
According to Logemann said that, with around 32 bagels created, the competition was so stiff that winning seemed unlikely.
"During the competition, we got a chance to try some of the other groups' bagels and there were so many good creations and signs I never imagined we would win, so when they started reading off our ingredients as the winner, I was speechless," she said. "It was such an amazing feeling."
While Logemann might have been nervous about the fate of her bagel, Bagel & Deli owner Gary Franks, who was one of the judges of the competition, said the choice was clear in deciding a winner.
"It was a unanimous decision," Franks said. "It's a pretty good bagel."
The Horny Jalapeño joined Bagel & Deli menu favorites like Crunch 'n Munch and Messy Katie last Friday, Feb. 12.
According to Franks, the bagel has had some sales since it joined the menu, but no one is sure whether it will stay permanently or not.
"It's too early to tell," he said. "It hasn't even been on for a week, so it needs more time."
One of those customers who bought the bagel was Logemann herself.
"It was so good, I've been craving it ever since," she said. "We have been telling everyone to go buy it!"