Culinary Week at my university kicked off this year with The Commons On Fire, our annual cooking competition. Three teams of staff members and students work together to create an appetizer and entrée from a list of ingredients that they are given minutes before the competition begins. After an hour, the plates are presented to a panel of four judges for tasting and are given a score based on presentation, creativity, and taste. I had competed in this event last year, so being a part of the judging panel this time around was even more exciting for me.
Once the hour of cooking was approaching its end, the judges were rounded up and secluded in the Chef’s Table. We sampled six plates, three appetizers followed by three entrees. Interestingly, each team chose to use their Manila clams in their appetizer; one team served them with undressed pea shoots while the other two teams served them in broth. The undressed vegetable would be a running theme with this team; an unfortunate downfall, as their plating was some of the best of the night.
One broth was very sweet, flavored with Mirin and scallions. This was my personal favorite clam dish of the event. The fried yam chips were irregularly cut and suffered uneven frying because of it. But the colors and flavors of each dish were on point; the clams were perfectly cooked across all three plates and the portions were appropriate for an appetizer. The plating here seemed a little sloppy with the chips loosely piled on; another small dish or paper cone would have made it seem much more put together.
The entrees were presented in the same order as the appetizers; the first entrée came from the same team who presented the first appetizer, and so on. In the first course, two teams had chosen to present their clams in similar styles; in the entrée course, two teams elected to stuff and roll their chicken as a roulade (originating from the French word 'rouler,' meaning ‘roll.’) The chicken roulade from both teams was outstanding, and their sauces were delicious as well. One team served a baby bok choy that looked wonderful but was completely unseasoned. The same dish was plagued by a miscalculation in time, and the pile of potatoes had gotten cold by the time we received the plates.
The third team broke the mold and served a beverage with their dish; a combination on honey, grape gum, tea, and lemon juice. It was simply outstanding and the first time we really got a sense of the grape gum from any team’s plates. While the two chicken roulade dishes were perfectly cooked and very tasty, the third team served their chicken with a wonderful crispy skin and a wonderfully simple, minimalist presentation. The Oolong rice was tasty, but a little overdone and glutinous.
The final entree was the second of the chicken roulades. I liked this one slightly more than the first offering, possibly only because the other components on the plate weren't off target. That being said, I preferred the glaze on the other roulade; it was a thicker, stickier sauce and this plate seemed to be on the runny side. The presentation here could have benefited from a little more composition, too.
After an explanation of the rules by Master Chef Ken Arnone, the teams set to work on their plates. The theme of Culinary Week was an exploration of Asia, so many of the ingredients are popular in some cuisine from the East. Common ingredients like bok choy and Japanese beer crashed against grape gum and wasabi peas. Some of the teams struggled to incorporate all of the ingredients into their dishes, and the activity and energy in the kitchen is accurately described as frantic. The crowd was boisterous and supportive of their favorite teams; people milled around watching the action and snacking on handmade sushi rolls.
The other clam dish was salty and earthy; hunks of sausage contrasted the accompanying ssam-like salad nicely. Some of the judges approached the salad with a fork, but I picked it up as a bundle and went for it; it definitely worked much better this way than as more separate components. Almost unanimously, we judges agreed the salad was a particular high point, especially when rolled like a lettuce cup or ssam (the Korean description for ‘wrapped’.)
The judging was intense. The presentation of the plates across the board was at a pretty high level; there were very few technical mistakes made by any team, but as we deliberated over the plates, it became clear how the team’s performances had played out. We handed in our score cards and joined the crowd for the announcement of the winners. When the dust had settled, team Saute Hautes (led by Anthony McGinnis) took first place to enormous applause. One of the team members actually won her third first-place medal too! This event has been running for three years now, and she has been a member of each winning team, every year. Each team had presented a fantastic meal and all competitors should be extremely pleased with their efforts.
For more photos of this event, click over to Audrey's page!
