On Saturday February 24th Carleton was part of a Student Iron Chef competition in Montreal with four other participating universities – McGill University, University of Toronto, University of Ottawa, and University of Massachusetts Amherst. Like any great competition, the event had its share of thrills and spills, bue talent by our student chefs was outstanding! Each team bringing their game face with the coaches and spectators standing on the sideline (actually behind yellow tape on the floor that could not be crossed) and giving their advice and encouragement to our young culinary Olympians.
This was the fifth annual inter-university Iron Chef competition, and we were invited to participate for the first time. Our team of three students, coached by our Executive Chef Daniel Poulin prepared two dishes, an appetizer and an entrée. The teams had two hours to cook, and had to incorporate a “black box of ingredients” which included: beef shoulder, salmon, sunchoke, beets, black rice, pomegranate, and eggs. We were able to use all of the ingredients in creative ways and made a beautiful menu! This was a great opportunity to engage our students, showcase our culinary capabilities, and network with other universities. You can check out our scrumptious menu here!
Chef Daniel was able to help with menu design but was not allowed to taste or help during the competition, and looking at these photos we couldn’t be more impressed with our mini chefs in training, and yes, we already offered them jobs with Dining Services since this was pretty much the most hands on “interview” we’ve ever put on
Now that we know what to expect, we’ll be even more prepared next year, and hopefully give a gentle nudge off the throne to UMass which has taken first place an impressive four out of the last five year of the competition. This year’s standings were starting with the champs – Umass, University of Toronto, CARLETON (yay), McGill, and University of Ottawa.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018 in News and Notes
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