By Patxi Elizalde

Cooking Up Creativity 

Last Thursday, we had our second Interview Day of the year. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s essentially SCAs version of an interview/application, or a chance for potential future SCA students to get up on stage and prove that they are *worthy of a spot in next year’s intake. Each person has to get up on stage and ‘introduce themselves’ however they like in 4 minutes. After, they work together on a short brief provided by Marc, followed by a Q&A session over beers with the current intake.

So far, we’ve had a few interesting performances… One girl showcased her creativity by demonstrating how to make a classic Bloody Mary even better and more interesting using non-traditional materials, one girl created a short film encompassing 3 nights full of crazy dreams, and one guy even talked about his love for triangles in 4 minutes. All different, all interesting, and all good insights into their personalities. I love that SCA does this, and I love that we, the current intake, (seemingly) have a say in whether a person gets in or gets shafted.

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is because of something that was said during the last interview day that stuck with me. Funnily enough, it wasn’t said by any of the potential SCAers, but by one of our current students in the Q&A session. I forget who exactly said this, and what the question was, but someone mentioned the fact that SCA has changed the way we see things even outside of class, and ultimately the way we interact with the world. While that might sound a bit dramatic, I think it’s very true, and that this demonstrates that the course is actually working.

I could go on about the way I look at ads differently, how I now pay more attention to my surroundings, and all that… but that’s expected. The course should make you take apart each ad you see and form an opinion about it. It should teach you to collect and connect dots wherever you can and to seek out insights in all these new places. However, one thing I didn’t really expect is that it has changed the way I cook.

Now, I’ve just recently (finally) moved into a new place with access to a full kitchen, and thus have been able to cook for myself a lot more often. I used to do this a lot back in New York, but haven’t really been able to do it as much as I’d like since I left. I am by no means a great cook, but I can cook the simple things quite well. You know, the good shit.

Since I started cooking, I’ve noticed that I approach it in a much more organized and patient manner, as if I’m practicing some kind of creative technique. “Everything is a process.” In the past, I was very ‘by the book’ with my recipes and wouldn’t really leave much room for creativity with the fear that I would just screw things up. Each ingredient was added in the exact quantity listen on the recipe. Now, however, I’ve noticed that, (maybe due to the abundance of interesting ingredients in Brixton), I’m much more willing to experiment with different tastes and textures, and even measurements and quantity, going now by gut and taste rather than what’s written on the recipe. In addition, I’ve been way more patient with my cooking, especially if it means making the meal more ‘authentic,’ leading to an end result I’m happier with. For example, taking 40 minutes to make a sauce out of real tomatoes from the market, rather than buying a can of crushed tomatoes from Sainsbury’s (the little things).

Anyway, at the end of the day, it might be that this class has really changed the way I’ve been living my life for the better, or it might just be a change in location that has introduced me to new ways. Whatever it is, I feel my thinking and observation skills have definitely improved since I started at SCA, and I hope I continue to not only notice these things, but to keep learning more and new ways of approaching life with new perspectives.

*am I even worthy?