On Sept. 25, the Brandeis Culinary Club hosted a “Mochi and Mingle” event in Ridgewood Commons. Attendees listened as co-president Julie Song ’28 introduced the new fall semester executive board. As more students trickled in through the entrances of the common space, the executive board began reading instructions about how to make mochi. With only three tables set up for the first station, students broke into various groups to begin making their own mochi. 

The Brandeis Culinary Club is currently the only student-run organization on campus centered on cooking and baking. After the Involvement Fair, the club expected a large turnout, based on its recent spike in registered members. However, because this was the club’s first event of the semester and mochi, a traditional Japanese rice cake, was the dish choice of the night, the club underestimated how many students would show up. Cornstarch, a key ingredient, ran out around 6:30 p.m. Flour, another key ingredient, was gone by 6:50 p.m.

The event was advertised to run until 8 pm, with a time block system in effect. The first time block was set to run from 6-7 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. as the second half. According to Song, “the first block was full, with only a handful of students signing up for the second; the goal when welcoming attendees was to see if we could persuade them to wait until the second half. Seeing things now though, I think [the] majority of these students aren’t registered for either.”

Maxwell Fernald, a kitchen manager, said the time-block system is fairly new. “We started last semester. We have seen some success with it. I definitely think people in the past have respected it. But with the new freshmen, I’m not sure if they know.”

In a Sept. 25 interview with The Justice, Omar Fabian ’30 shared why he was attracted to the event. “I came here with some friends. They were like, ‘Oh my god, just come. It´s going to be so much fun,’ And so far, I am having a great experience.”

While continuing to make mochi, Fabian shared, “I’m not that experienced in cooking, especially in mochi. This is a fun way to meet people, and now I’m here with a nice guy named Cole. I don’t follow the Instagram. But there was a lot of word of mouth. I didn’t know about the timeblock system either. But I think it could have been improved.”

Fabian was one of 122 attendees, which put stress on the two available microwaves.

“There was a long wait time and the kitchen got really full, but it was worth it in the end. Let me know when the next meeting is. I haven’t joined the Campus Groups, but now I’m joining for sure.”