The Easter egg hunt is a beloved tradition celebrated in backyards, public parks and even the White House. But due to a bird flu outbreak, the Easter Bunny was unable to justify purchasing hundreds of eggs at $12 per dozen for the Carleton egg hunt. So, staff at Bon Appetit swooped in to help, and help limit food waste at the same time.
“We make, maybe 200 pounds of chicken breast every day, per dining hall,” a BonApp chef said. “And while the gym rats make a significant dent in our stock, we tend to have a lot of leftovers. So, when we heard that an alternative was needed for an egg hunt, I thought: ‘Chicken is pretty darn close, I mean, what made the egg, after all?’”
On Easter Sunday, many families around the country who struggle to afford excess eggs dyed potatoes, marshmallows or other food items to decorate their dinner tables, BonApp has taken to coloring pounds upon pounds of grilled chicken breasts with natural dye in order to create beautiful pastel colors.
“Each color corresponds to a different flavor, we get the dye from dry rubs,” chef Shel Krackin explained. “The red ones are smoked paprika, the yellow ones are turmeric ginger, green is chimichurri and blue is…I guess that one’s just blue.”
The chicken hunt commenced early Sunday afternoon, when the Easter Bunny and President Alison Byerly made the call off of the balcony of Nutting House. The streets of Northfield were then teeming with ambitious students looking to fill their “baskets,” replaced with Compostable ToGos, with as many chicken pieces as possible.
“I actually kind of liked it,” said chicken hunter Carnie Vorr. “They carved some of the chicken breasts into the shape of eggs, so it wasn’t that different. Also, it was nice to have a little snack while hunting. Sometimes we get tired at Easter egg hunts, and that protein boost really helped.”
In total, about 500 chicken breasts were hidden on and around Carleton’s campus, and the hunt didn’t stop until every last one was found. This was difficult initially, because the chicken pieces were sometimes avoided because they were mistaken for rocks, hockey pucks, doorstops and bricks. Luckily, after about seven hours of searching, all chickens were accounted for, and the Easter bunny celebrated by throwing all of the leftover chicken breasts to the Rec, for athletes to feast on like a pack of wolves who had come across a deer.
Overall, the Easter chicken hunt was a resounding success, with BonApp signaling a possible continuation of the tradition into next year, even if egg prices started to level off. The only criticism, however, came from the vegetarian community on campus who felt a non-meat alternative was necessary. To this, BonApp issued a sincere apology, promising to add wet, unseasoned bricks of tofu to the hunt next year.
