OTTUMWA —
There are many facial expressions one might expect from young chefs. A look of fear, however, was a surprise.
“No, that’s good, that’s good,” said Chef Gordon Rader, head instructor of the Indian Hills Community College culinary program.
A well-known chef once told Rader if there is no anxiety in preparing for a party of diners, you shouldn’t be cooking.
Rader said these chefs, all high school students, were motivated to get everything right and to get done in time. High school students carrying hot cookie sheets, mixing bowls and quart containers of cream buzzed around the chef and each other. At least two students cut themselves while using their knives and another caught chili powder in the eye.
“Slow down when you’re cutting and remember what knives are for!” called out Rader.
Friday’s frenetic activity was set off because Rader and his staff organized an Iron Chef cooking competition for five area high schools at the IHCC kitchen. Students had two hours to prepare a three-course meal for a panel of judges, so the expression of the day may simply have been panic, not fear — though one teacher said it was neither.
“I was watching passion, the desire to give a perfect product,” said Debb Kent, the culinary teacher from Ottumwa High School. “This is what they want. They want to be chefs.”
But a kitchen probably wouldn’t get this hectic, would it?
“This is real world,” said Kent. “This is what the industry is going to expect.”
The competition wasn’t a quiz on a piece of paper, she said. It’s an intense and “authentic” assessment of everything the kids had learned — and practiced — in earlier food classes as well as their advanced courses.
Students from Ottumwa, Davis County, Mediapolis, Mount Pleasant and Burlington had been practicing for weeks.
“They only have so much of a budget. I finally told them what the ‘secret ingredient’ was so they didn’t waste money,” Rader said. “Dried chili peppers.”
Judges walking through the kitchen made notes on hygiene practices and cooking procedures. They also warned the chef they’d need two more pitchers of ice water: The steam from some of the hotter peppers was getting in their eyes, their noses and their mouths.
Meanwhile, Cindy and Stan Dilks of Mount Pleasant got a special delivery from their daughter. Three courses prepared by Molly and her Mount Pleasant classmates.
“The different flavors, the spices, come together,” said Dad. “Each flavor accents each other.”
His wife said she saw the presentation from every school.
“They are all doing great. This is all high-end restaurant...” she paused, then said, “That spring roll has a little bit of heat to it!”
The judges sampled three recipes from each school, 15 in all. Dishes from the schools included cold Asian spring rolls in rice paper; a southwest chicken pasta using noodles made from scratch by students; pad thai, the national noodle dish of Thailand; spicy flat-bread pizza and a shrimp and oyster stew. All, including the desserts, contained chili pepper.
When it came time to choose a winner, the judges decided that Mount Pleasant’s Asian cuisine reigned supreme.
Web Extra: http://acfofiowa.org/hillskitchen/
Local News
Related Photos
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A Burlington High School student concentrates on getting the correct measure of dried pasta during a fast-paced cooking competition against four other schools in southeast Iowa. Mark Newman/The Courier
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Rafael Rameriz, an Ottumwa High School senior, prepares to present a dish to the judges Friday in the Indian Hills Community College kitchen. Mark Newman/The Courier
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