Reply #8: Yes, that would be awesome!

[Rabrrrrrr]

Allow no pre-made anythings into the contest - if they want a chicken broth, they need to make it during the contest. And they have to do all their shopping during the contest, too, but i think we should allow them to do their shopping after they've seen the secret ingredient.

And they have to do a full meal, including dessert; though the number of courses is up to them.

And the secret ingredient should be something difficult, like a spice - saffron would make a frickin' amazing contest - or an herb, or a generic food like sour cream or corn meal, that will force their hand to be creative because it's something that only enhances food, and isn't used as a food itself. They can't make the secret anything main-course-able like lamb, potatoes, mushrooms, etc.