What’s Up With Marc’s Waffles?

Waffles seem to be the unofficial food of Sequoyah, given how many articles The Barefoot Times has written about them. (The Times has previously covered both the Talking Leaves waffle tradition and the heated debate over pancakes versus waffles.) There can’t possibly be more to say, right? Wrong! There is more to say, know, and learn. Keep reading to find out, and answer the most pressing waffle question: what’s going on with the waffles this year? 

To start this investigation, The Barefoot Times reached out to High School Director Marc Alongi—the purveyor of what students call “Marc’s waffles”—to discuss this year’s course of action. When asked about the strategy for this year’s waffles, Alongi said, “the plan is to do them” and the fans of the waffles collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Why were they relieved? That is because the waffle-making tradition did not happen last spring (Spring Talking Leaves 2023), leaving many to wonder if the custom would indeed continue. When asked about why this gap occurred, Alongi simply replied, “you know, I don’t remember.” This is completely understandable considering that the waffles are just one part of the busy Talking Leaves season. 

Now that you know waffles are going to happen, how will they happen? Last year there were some slight problems with the waffle tradition—the flow of distribution and the interesting pumpkin whipped cream—so what will happen this year? The waffle circulation (starting at the bathroom end of the hallway outside of rooms 1 and 2 and moving towards the teacher’s kitchen) was pretty bad last year, but Alongi explains why the hallway outside of rooms 1 and 2 has to be used: “every year, we have a problem with outlets and the power strips because apparently waffle irons are massive drains [on electricity] and they trigger the switch on the circuit breaker.” Because of the aforementioned overloading irons, it seems the hallway must be used again and it may be even worse this year! Unlike years past, rooms 1 and 2 are used for Talking Leaves this year, which has the potential to cause even more congestion. Waffle savant Harper Gowen ’26 proposes an interesting solution: staggering. “We [can still] have it in the hallway, just staggered by grade. Ninth graders can come at this time, tenth graders can come at this time, just so it’s separated.”

The second problem is more fixable. To avoid further topping calamities, Alongi suggests, “[I could] do some kind of a survey which I could hand off to Gryphon Media to ask people what they want.” And that is exactly what happened; Gryphon Media Company has created a form to find out your waffle topping and companion preferences. It will be open for as long as possible at this link. This opens up so many new doors–seasonal toppings, a make-your-own-waffle buffet, aguas frescas, cinematic masterpieces, and anything else you can imagine. Harper Gowen ’26, The Barefoot Times’ resident waffle expert, shares a particularly interesting cinematic experience: “Marc should videotape himself walking to Vallarta, working for the students, getting that exercise for the students. We should just make a time-lapse of Marc walking to Vallarta and getting the aguas frescas [to go with the waffles]. For incoming admission students, we should play [the tape] of our principal getting the aguas frescas and be, like, ‘guys, look how dedicated our principal is.’”

No matter what happens with the waffles, Harper Gowen ’26, the waffle guru herself, says it best: “Waffles are love; waffles are life; waffles are the unofficial food of Sequoyah…They are the defining objects that are a symbol of the Talking Leaves experience. It takes work, effort, and sugar.”

Have a nice Talking Leaves season, and enjoy some waffles!