Students, chefs compete in cooking competition at Bob’s Place Wednesday

Irish Martos | Argonaut (From left) Meaghan Daveport, Jaleh Brown, Drake Zuschlag and Wade Skogard compete in the Iron Chef Student Cooking Competition.

They had 25 minutes and a variety of ingredients at their disposal. The chefs could use meats, vegetables and fruits to create their dish. And of course, the mandatory secret ingredient – maraschino cherries – had to make an appearance.

For University of Idaho chefs Dimon Johnson and Raymond Blair, they only needed 20 minutes to put their best dish forward at the Iron Chef Student Cooking Competition at Bob”s Place Wednesday night.

UI students saw the first tie ever at the 5th Iron Chef Competition Wednesday, among other champions and competitors.

Johnson and Blair, both professional chefs at UI, each scored 92 points for their dishes.

Both chefs said their culinary creations were comfort food versus delicacy, as Johnson”s dish included more traditional elements and Blair made a vegetarian meal.

Irish Martos | Argonaut
(From left) Meaghan Daveport, Jaleh Brown, Drake Zuschlag and Wade Skogard compete in the Iron Chef Student Cooking Competition.

A resounding shock seemed to resonate with the table of judges as they tasted Blair”s untraditional creation.

“I could go vegetarian if it tasted like that,” said Adam Thies, a judge and finance manager for Sodexo Vandal Dining. “He made me eat food I don”t eat.”

Sargon Hamod, a judge and political science major at UI, was also surprised to enjoy the dish.

“I”ve never had vegetarian food that good,” Hamod said.

In reaction to Johnson”s dish, Kristen Hoffman, a judge for the competition and a marketing intern with Vandal Dining, said she enjoyed how Johnson”s sauce brought out the flavor in all the other ingredients.

Wednesday night was Blair”s first time competing in the Iron Chef competition. It was Johnson”s third time competing and her second time winning. She was considered the returning champion of the night.

Before the chef competition, UI students took part in a similar competition.

Students Meaghan Daveport and Jaleh Brown competed as a team against the team of Wade Skogard and Drake Zuschlag, all volunteers happened to be eating at Bob”s at the time.

Daveport and Brown had never met before last night. Both said they had some experience cooking. Brown said she cooks for Bloom in downtown Moscow and had previously taken a cooking class.

Zuschlag and Skogard are roommates and both said they had limited cooking experience.

“I can cook ramen,” Skogard said to audience laughter.

The students also had 25 minutes to compete with the same ingredients as the judges, but their secret ingredients included apples and pears. Competitors had to use at least one of the two fruits for their dish to qualify to win.

Both teams used similar ingredients, but were creative with their technique and execution.

“They are making applesauce with their bare fists,” Marissa Rudley, campus dietitian and moderator of the event, said of the men”s team during the competition. “They are literally putting an apple in a bowl and punching it.”

But judges said it was the flavor of Daveport and Brown”s dish that won them the title of “Iron Chef” and Vandal Bookstore swag.

Zuschlag”s roommate Baylus Tunnicliff said he was not surprised Zuschlag”s team lost.

“When his partner said he only cooked ramen, you know, he”s only like a level above that,” Tunnicliff said.

The Iron Chef competition is held twice a year at UI. Rudley said past competitions have included vegetarian dishes, lentils, stir fry and seasonal flavors.

Danielle Riddle, an assistant moderator and nutrition services intern, said competitions like Iron Chef are meant to make Bob”s a better place. She said similar competitions are held at universities everywhere and they receive huge audiences – something nutrition services at UI is trying to emulate.

Though the competition did draw an audience, Riddle said the event did not get as much advertisement as organizers would have liked.

“We”re just trying to make this a really big event that makes students excited to come to college,” Riddle said.

Rudley said the next Iron Chef competition will be held in the spring.

Taylor Nadauld  can be reached at  [email protected]  or on Twitter @tnadauldarg

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