The Iron Chef is a competition between groups of four or less in Mr. Cary Brett’s grade 12 Food’s class. It is a competition where groups of students get a secret ingredient and must make a dish mainly surrounding the ingredient. Much like the popular show, they have limited time to create the dish, which will be rated for flavor, presentation and originality from four guest judges. The contestants “Secret Ingredient” for one class was Butternut Squash. There were five groups making different plates.
Group one made ravioli with butternut squash filling, making a tender and tasteful dish. Group two made pasta with a light pureed squash sauce to drizzle onto noodles. Group three made a squash pizza with a beautiful sauce on the side. Finally group four made squash fries with a sauce. All of these dishes were very well made, even with a few bumps along the way, just like any kitchen. “It’s hard but pretty fun to do,” said Jake Hinder, one of the students in group two. Most students had a good time participating in the competition. “It was pretty cool since we didn’t really have a lot of time to do it; it was a rush” said Owen Kennedy from Brett’s X block class.
Overall the students had a fun time doing the project while actually learning how to cook while rushed and under pressure from judges, much like the experience one would get cooking for a restaurant where every customer is your own personal judge. It was a good learning experience for the students; if you ever want to do anything like this or just enjoy cooking, take Foods 12.
