Three courses for the junior iron chefs

By Stephanie James

With the Junior Iron Chef Competition only a few weeks away, Loyalist College’s culinary management students have been hard at work preparing and finalizing details for the event.

Being held at Loyalist College for the 11^th year in a row, culinary management students are required to organize and host the event as a part of their event management class.

“I am so happy we got this opportunity to see how a real event is run and the challenges it includes. We can take this experience and utilize it later on down the road,” said Amy Arthur, a second year culinary management student at Loyalist College.

On the day of the competition, three high schools will compete against each other in preparing an appetizer, an entree and a dessert that will be later judged by four judges who are either working in the culinary industry or pursuing a career in it.

The judges include Chef John Schneeberger, Loyalist Colleges Culinary program coordinator, Chef Jay McCool, a former Loyalist culinary student, Chef Christopher Ennew, St. Anne’s Spa Expectative Chef, and a second year culinary management student from Loyalist College who has yet to be announced.

The schools that will be competing in the finals are Loyalist Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Prince Edward Collegiate Institute and Ernestown Secondary School. Each school is allowed four students per team to compete.

The finalists were chosen out of eight schools that wanted to compete in the semi-finals, which started in November 2011.

During the competition, contestants will have two hours to complete their three recipes. They have the choice of creating their own recipes or using existing ones.  This competition, like most, has stipulations that must be followed. Teams must produce three plates for each course of the three-course meal required. There are no pre-prepared items permitted in the competition. Contestants’ appetizers must contain but are not limited to leeks, garlic, carrots and turnip, and for the entrée, contestants must include a six-ounce portion of pork tenderloin.

For this year’s competition, the Ontario Pork Producers have donated approximately 55 pork tenderloin to Loyalist College for the final event.

Along with the Junior Iron Chef Competition, Loyalist will be hosting the food and beverage show on the same day.  It gives local chefs the chance to give demonstrations to the public to promote business while contestants are preparing their meals.

The competition and show will be held on February 18. in the cafeteria at Loyalist College. Booths will be set up for the show and contestants from the competition will be preparing their summations in the culinary kitchen and in Club 213. The competition and show starts at 10 a.m. and is scheduled to go until 3 p.m.

“The day’s events is the culmination of months of effort from all concerned and will prove to be phenomenal. We’re looking forward to a great turnout,” said Schneeberger.