Gourmet Survivor II: The Scavenger Hunt

[For those that missed it, here’s the explanation for Gourmet Survivor II: A Benefit for Katrina Victims. I suggest reading that first, before reading this post.]

It’s time for a scavenger hunt, boys and girls. A Flickr scavenger hunt, that is. How many Flickr scavenger hunts have there been, I wonder? Do we have the market on that?

Last year’s “mass elimination” scavenger hunt had participants raving.

“I had a wonderful time doing it…my boyfriend now thinks I am a spastic…Thanks!!” – wrote participant “Melissa”

“That was the best night of confusing grocery shoppers ever.” – typed “Fae.”

Now you have an opportunity to have the time of your life. All you need is a digital camera (you can borrow one, of course), a Flickr account and $10 for Katrina victims.

The rules are simple. I’m going to copy and paste them from last year’s post:

“Here’s how we play. In a moment, I will give you a list of 50 things to find and photograph over the next four days. For everything you find and photograph, you will get one point. You must (and this is key) include yourself in the photo of the object. In other words, no Google image searching here: you must prove to me that you are there holding and/or slapping this object. And you will do that by including yourself in the picture.

Now let me say right here, I don’t expect you to find all 50 items. That’d be ludicrous. Instead, you must balance quantity of items found with speed and efficiency. You will be rewarded for posting your photos in a timely manner. Here’s the point breakdown:

Posted by WEDNESDAY at 11:59 pm, you get 20 points.

Posted THURSDAY at 11:59, you get 10 points.

Posted FRIDAY at 11:59, you get 5 points.

Posted SATURDAY NIGHT at 11:59, you get 1 point.

And it’s due on SUNDAY at 11:59.

Now remember you can post without finding all 50. So one strategy may be to scramble and find as much as you can before tonight and get those 20 points. Another might be to wait the four days out and get all 50 points by finding every object. That’s up to you.”

This year the list is going to feature many items indicative of or suggestive of New Orleans cuisine. Obviously, many of you live in areas where these items are not easy to find and I’ve taken that into account. Creative interpretations are encouraged. For example, “dirty rice” (which will be on the list) may be interpreted in various ways and creativity points will be awarded. I’ll make note, on the list, of places where you can take creative license. If you’re not sure about something, take a chance, and I’ll make an executive decision when all the pictures come in.

And now for the most important part: how to post. This is actually pretty easy. I set up a donation page at JustGiving.com. You can view it here (and I’ll have it at the end of the post too.) On that page, you’ll see a button that says “GIVE NOW.” Just click that, donate $10 and in the comment for your contribution put the link to the Flickr page you made. That’s it! Very easy. And that way I’ll know that you paid your entrance fee before I look at your pictures. Plus, the list will provide the date you submitted and I can award you the appropriate pointage. If you get it in by the 7th, and the list says 9/7/05, you get 20 points and so on. It’ll serve us great.

This’ll be the page we’ll use throughout the competition to vote for our favorite entries each round. And hopefully that “Total Raised So Far” will keep increasing. For bystanders, this is a page you should bookmark because you can check in and see who’s posted Flickr pages so far. It’ll be fun.

The money’s going to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief fund. To donate, you need a MasterCard or Visa. I hope that’s not a HUGE problem for anyone. If it is, and there’s really nothing you can come up with to get around it, please e-mail me at amateurgourmet AT gmail DOT com and we’ll figure something out.

Phew. Ok. That was a mouthful. Are you ready for the list? I think you are. On your mark, get set, here we go!

Gourmet Survivor II: The Scavenger Hunt List

[Make sure you’re in each and every picture, otherwise it doesn’t count!]

[Also, make sure you label your pics on Flickr so I know what it is you’re showing!]

1. A bottle of cayenne pepper balanced on your head.

2. A menu from a restaurant that says New Orleans somewhere on it.

3. A dog or a cat wearing a chef’s hat.

4. You with a placard outside a restaurant that says:

– “I LIKE MY FOOD SPICY” (1 pt)

– “SPICY FOOD MAKES ME HORNY” (2 pts)

– “I WAS RAPED BY EMERIL” (5 pts)

NOTE: There must be at least one genuine onlooker in the picture! No friends!

5. A cast-iron skillet balanced on your finger.

6. Pecans in your nostrils.

7. You with a baby eating cake. (Because in New Orleans they have those baby cakes…)

8. Dirty rice.

– “Pan-fried leftover cooked rice sautéed with green peppers, onion, celery and giblets.” (3 pts)

– Creative interpretation (up to 5 pts)

9. Playing the sax while eating a sandwich.

– (Bonus 1 pt if you have cayenne pepper balanced on your head while you do it.)

10. Crayfish

– (3 pts if it’s a real crayfish)

– (5 pts if you dress as a crayfish—no real crayfish needed.)

– (10 pts if you dress as a crayfish and you hold a crayfish too.)

11. You with chicory—defined as “An herb that is dried, ground, roasted and used to flavor New Orleans coffee.”

12. Any cookbook that features New Orleans food.

– (Minus 2 pts if the book is Emeril’s!) (Just kidding.) (I think.)

13. You flossing with Mardi Gras beads.

14. You kissing a box of grits.

15. Gumbo.

– (+5 pts if Gumby’s in the Gumbo.)

16. You drinking hot sauce from the bottle.

17. Prailine. Defined as: “A New Orleans candy. Flat and sweet, it is made of sugar, water, and pecans.”

18. Hot peppers that look like famous people.

– (Make a note in the post about who you think it looks like, and you’ll be awarded up to 5 pts for creativity and likeness.)

19. You in a t-shirt that says “HOT” somewhere on it.

20. Boudin. Defined as: “Hot, spicy sausage that has pork, onions, rice, and herbs mixed together.”

Ok, at this point we’ll move away from specifically New Orleans food and broaden the scope a bit for those not in the United States. (Even though items 1 through 20 provide many opportunities for creative point getting.) So here we go!

21. A spork.

22. You in one of those aprons that has a naked body on it.

23. A large wheel of Parmesan.

24. A pair of dentures eating a piece of licorice.

25. A Tupperware party.

– (3 pts for creativity here!)

26. A jello mold.

27. You in a bakery with flour on your face.

28. You playing a cannoli like a trumpet.

29. The “Big Night” DVD in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.

30. You with a milk mustache.

(+5 points if you make it look like one of those Milk ads by adding text, etc.)

31. Grating cheese directly into your mouth.

32. You holding a rose and a glass of rose.

33. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

34. A cucumber zucchini sword fight.

35. Someone throwing a tomato at your face: BEFORE.

36. Something throwing a tomato at your face: AFTER.

37. Butternut Squash and Honey Nut Cheerios, doing battle.

38. A CD with food on the cover.

39. David Lebovitz’s “Great Book of Chocolate.”

40. Eating something in a public place while wearing oven mitts.

41. The New Yorker Food Issue.

(Bonus point if you have last year’s too. Ditto for each additional year.)

42. A lobster tank.

43. Nutella under an umbrella.

44. White bread with you looking as “white bread” as you can.

– (Up to 5 bonus points for creativity.)

45. You hugging a Starbucks employee.

46. Picking fruit from a tree.

47. An ice cream truck.

48. You making an ugly face holding Ugly Fruit.

49. The Larousse Gastronomique in one hand and a whisk in the other.

50. You reading your favorite food blog with a knife and fork poised over the keyboard.

Ok, that’s it! And please, for the love of God, don’t try to do all these things. Just do as much as you can and remember that $10 will help people in need, so even if you don’t play to win just play! When you finished taking all the pictures and you posted them on Flickr, click here to donate the $10 and post the link! Thanks!