WARS CUPCAKE

Culinary students were challenged to think outside of the box – literally. Their assignment: Find a unique made from scratch cupcake recipe for the annual Cupcake Wars competition.

Culinary arts teacher Toby Hunter gave each team their “mise en place” directive. Translated: “Get your stuff in order.” Thirteen groups provided Hunter a grocery list of all the needed ingredients. Once they had their ingredients, they made two different flavors of cupcakes.

From those batches, they turned in one cupcake for judging. “Time management is the biggest thing,” said Hunter. “They had to learn timing for baking their creations. They also had to take into account recipe conversions and reading the recipe correctly.” One group made a mint oreo cupcake and an apple pie cupcake. They chose to enter their apple pie confection. Another group created an Arnold Palmer cupcake with tea infused milk. They didn’t win, but they were willing to try something different,” said Hunter.

The next day they made the frosting and fillings and worked on decorating. “I did the apple pie filling, but it was hard for the flour to dissolve and thicken up like it was supposed to, so I had to use caramel as a replacement to make it thicken up and look good,” said senior Meredith Morris.

Owners of Sugartopia, a local bakery, served as judges for the Cupcake Wars. Senior Carol Kate Dunlap and sophomore Emmet Sims won best overall with their Campfire cupcake.

Students enjoyed a glamorous evening at the 2023 Tallulah Falls School Prom held at Chota Falls Estate in Clayton, Georgia. The evening involved dinner, the traditional senior walk, crowning of the prom king and queen, dancing, and carriage rides. “The venue is so unique and special,” said junior Ana Harris. “The carriage ride allowed us to really see the waterfalls and the lights.”

A highlight of the night was the annual senior walk. Seniors were escorted by a friend and enthusiastically announced by Dean of Students Jimmy Franklin. Several seniors and their escort choreographed a signature move to show off at the finale of their walk. “The senior walk is something special that we get to do together before the seniors leave,” said junior Lily Desta. “I escorted Denika Lightborne. We made up a handshake and converted it into a dance.”

President and Head of School Dr. Larry A. Peevy and Upper School Academic Dean Kim Popham crowned seniors Aarington Brown and Maya Pittman as the 2023 prom king and queen before they opened the dance floor with the first dance.

The night concluded with a bonfire underneath a cool mountain sky. Students roasted marshmallows and blew bubbles around the fire. “It was great to see all my friends dressed up and having fun,” said junior Brooke Hayes.