Iron Chef, day 1: Team prepares for food fight against other universities

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 18:00:49 +0000

geoff.vendeville Wed, 02/01/2017 - 13:00

Cutline

Ailin Xi, a biochemistry and nutritional sciences major, tastes the salmon appetizer she prepared with Jordan Su, a human geography student (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Author legacy

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

City & Culture

Iron Chef

Cooking

Education

Culinary

Subheadline

They'll be facing off against McGill University, University of Massachusetts Amherst and more

After the first training session for the Iron Chef competition, Chef James Piggott says the University of Toronto student team has the right ingredients to win the intra-university culinary cookoff.

But while Piggott hopes U of T will win – especially since the competition is being held here for the first time – he says victory isn’t the most important thing.

“If they walk away with a smile on their face and pick up a few new skills, that’s a job well done,” says Piggott, executive chef of residential dining at U of T's New College, who is training the student team.

“But let’s not lie. It’s fun to win.”

For the first time ever, the University of Toronto is hosting the annual Iron Chef competition. U of T News is following the student chefs chosen to represent the university in an culinary cook-off against the University of Massachusetts Amherst and other schools on Feb. 24–26.

Day 1 report card

Chef Piggott: “They would lose 20 per cent right off the top for kitchen cleanliness because that’s part of organization. But food wise, I’d probably give them an 85. The only things were – there were some portion-size issues, and there was the overcooking of the salmon. If I’m looking at the overall picture and deducting marks from 100 per cent, I’m taking a few points off for the salmon being overcooked. I’m taking a few points off here and there for the (small) portion size of the main course.

“Overall that brings them closer to 75 per cent. But that’s because they’re losing big marks for organization and cleanliness. They had stuff spread everywhere. We need to work on that. But overall, fantastic job.”

Culinary

Iron Chef, day 1: Team prepares for food fight against other universities

Read more about the Iron Chef team trials in U of T News

Read more about the competition

Day 1 report card