TECHNICIAN Features LIFE & STYLE

MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2009 • PAGE 5

Raleigh chefs take to the street

Four local chefs battle it out
John Lawther said.
in Hillsborough Street’s own Jeremy Wood and Grant Wil-
‘kitchen stadium’ for Iron liams, alumni in animal science,
Chef title came up with the idea to have an
organic cook-off event as plans
for the street festival got under-
Taylor McCune way about a year ago.
Features Editor “We just thought it would be a
good addition,” Williams said.
Although the weather — 43 “It’s going with the theme.”
degrees and wet — chased away The organizers planned to in-
many possible Hillsborough clude eight local chefs, but real-
Street Renaissance Festival goers, ized the logistics would be tough
it didn’t seem to bother Aaron to hammer out. Wood said he
Vaughn of Green Planet Cater- wanted to see the event grow at
ing, who had his sleeves rolled future festivals.
up to his elbows as he chopped, “We will have this again next DAVID MABE/TECHNICIAN
mixed and sauted during the year and make it bigger and Chef John Lawther stages plates for the Iron Chef competition during
Iron Chef competition. better. There will be more local the Hillsborough Street Rennaisance Festival Saturday.
“I don’t mind [the cold]. We chefs involved,” he said.
work in a hot kitchen, so it’s actu- It was big enough to garner DAVID MABE/
ally been nice,” he said. support from local business TECHNICIAN
The cold, rainy weather may though.
have made things easier for the Sushi Thai of Cary sponsored Daniel Taylor,
competition. The makeshift the event and Earth Fare, an or- chef de cui-
outdoor kitchens had no sinks ganic supermarket, supplied all sine at Por-
ter’s City Tav-
or refrigerators, which should of the food.
ern, prepares
have made it tough to keep pots The organic angle reinforced spaghetti
and pans clean and food at a safe the festivals theme of revitaliza- carbonara for
temperature, but Mother Nature tion and sustainability. All of the the Iron Chef
provided. The butter that was proceeds from the festival will go competition
cold at the competition’s begin- to community supported proj- during the
ning was rock solid by the end of ects and green research. Hillsborough
the first round. The Iron Chef contest wasn’t Street Rennai-
“We’ve had no problems with exactly like the television show. sance Festival.
refrigeration,” Vaughn said. In addition to food and space DAVID MABE/TECHNICIAN Taylor won
Iron Chef judges Alexandra Barnett, Richard Kugel- the title, “Iron
Space was an issue, though, ac- limitations, the chefs had to
man and Victoria Bouloubasis taste the food from Chef.”
cording to the chef. The dueling compete twice for the title. The
“kitchens” were set up under a contest was modeled on “March the competitors after the first round.
bedroom-sized tent that had to Madness basketball brackets,”
cover two work spaces, two gas according to the festival’s Web around the Iron Chef tent to get
judges, especial-
ly Alexandra Barnett, the guest
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS...AND SMELLS
stoves, a judging table and all of site. a peek at the action. She said the judge picked from the crowd. Two gas stoves hooked up to propane tanks sitting on the side of
the chefs and their equipment. Each of the four chefs com- “barbecue and pie” brought her Every time Wood, who was com- Hillsborough Street. The stoves were the only actual kitchen appliances at
Each team had a long folding peted in an initial round, with out to the festival, but she was mentating, asked her which dish the competition.
table to work on and about 30 the winners of the first rounds enjoying the cooking contest as she was looking forward to most, The smell of bacon fat rendering in a pan. Bacon was the first secret ingre-
square feet of facing off in the well. Barnett would yell, “Chocolate dient, and the chefs used it diligently.
space to maneu- “I don’t mind final. Each of the “I’m trying to learn some new covered bacon!”
Chefs teasing and joking with each other during the competition. Things
ver around in. three rounds was tricks,” she said. “It’s cool to see The judges must have been
Judge Richard [the cold]. We assigned a se- it in person.” impressed with the stuff, as the didn’t get too tense in the kitchens. During the final battle, Chef Daniel
Taylor started a tortilla fight.
Ku g e l m a n , a cret ingredient, The chefs battled for an hour, two-man team from Porter’s won
chef instructor work in a hot which the chefs working five different kinds of the first round. The sound of sizzling, bubbling and clanking, as the competitors crowded
at Fayetteville were expected to bacon — the secret ingredient Round two, between Vaughn their pots and pans on the burners.
Technical Com- kitchen, so it’s present in a cre- — into pastas, soups, sauces and and Chris Gantt, both of Green
A small crowd of wet, shivering onlookers who occasionally cheered or of-
munity College, ative and tasty even a dessert. Planet Catering, and Keith
said space would actually been manner for the Although Lawther steered clear Getchell and John Stephan of
fered encouragement to the contestants.

be the biggest is- three judges — of adding sugar to his bacon, Two Guys, introduced mush- Words like “complexity,” “great flavor,” “tangy” and “unique” coming from
sue. nice.” in just one hour. Schabat and Taylor dove right in, rooms to the contest. The chefs the judges’ table.
“ T h e d o n’t Aaron Vaughn, contender The first covering strips of the stuff with worked four different kinds of
The earthy smell of mushrooms emanating from the tent during round
have a kitchen and executive chef of Green round, between milk chocolate. mushrooms into potatoes au two.
to work in,” he team Scott Sch- As soon as the chocolate came gratin and on top of salmon.
Planet Catering Hillsborough Street’s famous panhandlers stopped in occasionally to see
said. “That will abat and Daniel out, the judges perked up. Anyone As the teams worked, Schabat
be tough.” Taylor of Porter’s who watches Iron Chef America and Taylor hung around, giving what was going on.
The ingredients list was Tavern and Lawther, who de- on Food Network knows that pointers to Vaughn — an old Volunteers sneaking pieces of chocolate covered bacon, which most
cramped as well — all food was scribed himself as a “free agent savory secret ingredients some- friend of Taylor’s. agreed was surprisingly tasty.
organic, and only so much of it ... because of the economy,” drew times find their way into des-
was available. a crowd of about 30 people. serts — anyone remember the —COMPILED BY TAYLOR MCCUNE
“You pull the trigger on what Christine Craven was one trout ice cream from season one? CHEF continued page 6
you got,” competitor and chef of the students who clustered The risky move excited all the

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