Terry the Turtle, or Mr. T as his students like to call him, loves teaching the cooking class at Animal Academy. They’ve learned so much and it’s now time for their final project – to create a recipe all on their own!

Billy the Buffalo wants to make bacon-wrapped chicken wings because he thinks it’s an easy crowd pleaser that is sure to get him an A+. He knows a lot of popular restaurants and recipes wrap bacon around different foods, and they have to be doing something right…right?

Luther the Lion grew up eating all kinds of vegetables and fruits. His mom, Mildred the Mama Lion truly believed in using fresh and healthy ingredients to feed her family. In turn, Luther internalized this belief and is always looking to snack on cucumbers, carrots, and anything else that grows from the ground! His roar has just a bit more oomph when he eats an apple versus potato chips. Luther decides to make a baked falafel dish with one of his favorite foods – chickpeas!

When it comes time to present their creations to the class, Mr. T starts to notice that a LOT of students wrapped bacon around an arbitrary food. Even Penny the Pig made bacon-wrapped grapefruit! Luther the Lion goes next to present his baked falafel dish and the class looks interested and impressed. Mr. T thinks a few students didn’t know what chickpeas were and most didn’t know something as yummy as falafel could be made with them! Overall, the class’ final projects were a success and the students left well-fed and cheerful. Mr. T was then left with the daunting task of grading the projects.

Billy the Buffalo ends up with a C, as do a lot of students who came up with similar bacon-wrapped dishes. They were fine, but nothing stood out from the bacon clad crowd. Mr. T felt like those students just followed a trend and didn’t think their dish through. Luther the Lion receives an A because he explained he wanted to use healthier ingredients in his recipe and wished more people would eat chickpeas (remember, they’re his favorite food!). He thought falafel would be an accessible dish his friends would want to try.

Billy and the others weren’t upset with their grades; after each student presented a bacon-wrapped dish one after the other, they realized they should’ve spent a bit more time thinking about what they wanted to make. They praised Luther for sticking to what he knew and believed in, and then made plans to grab food at the falafel stand down the street.

At SquarePlanet, we believe that buffalos have it all wrong. Following the herd is just another way to blend in and make a mediocre dish. Don’t be a buffalo, be different and stand out!