When it comes to the Hands-on Cook-off Contest, Burnaby resident Sydelle Murphy and her brother Ben Garfinkel take the cake for sibling rivalry.
Since the contest began four years ago, they have competed in the multigenerational category, with Garfinkel winning twice, Murphy once and both earning runner-up prizes.
The Hands-on Cook-off Contest, put on by Better Together, runs from April 15 to May 15. Participants create and submit a three-minute video showing the preparation of a recipe of their choice.
Videos in the multi-generational category must show at least two generations at work in the kitchen.
Murphy and Garfinkel, a Vancouver resident, have been battling it out for the $1,000 top prize from the very beginning, and their other brother Nathan Garfinkel has been caught in the middle.
He has made the videos for both, trying to provide equal treatment.
“I’ve campaigned him to do a poorer job on Sydelle’s for sure,” says Garfinkel jokingly.
Murphy attributes her success to the kid-friendly educational approach she takes to her cooking.
Garfinkel, meanwhile, prefers to keep his cooking sophisticated to appeal to an older audience.
The two grown-up siblings have had their kids helping them from day one – starting when each cousin was only about two years old and unable to do very much in the kitchen.
Lila Garfinkel’s first video in 2010, captures the toddler struggling to squeeze a lemon.
In his 2011 debut, Jake Murphy has difficulty pronouncing the names of some of the ingredients.
Murphy’s last few videos have also featured her two-year-old daughter, Shey.
Because the kids have gotten involved at such a young age, what started as sibling rivalry between the adults has turned into a cherished history of the cousins’ childhoods.
“Over the years, for me, it’s really become much less about winning and a lot more about having this record of me and my daughter cooking over the years,” Garfinkle says.
His sister agrees.
“It’s nice to see how we’ve grown and what he can do now compared to when he was two,” Murphy says of her son. “And now we have another one, so we’re seeing her grow.”
For more information about the contest, visit www.bettertogetherbc.ca/contest.
