Iron Chef Competition

Iron Chef, Florence 2009 Edition occurred on Friday, July 26th. The students assembled in their cooking group apartments and sent one representative to the staff terrace, where they each received a bag of mystery ingredients. Each bag was packed with the same items in the same amount. They included: 6 Chicken breasts, 200 gr. of fresh cut pancetta, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 2 mini-zucchini, 1 fresh bulb of fennel, 1 round, green squash (it looked like a green golfball), 6 slices of provalone cheese, and 6 pears. The students were told that they were not to use a recipe, but they were to draw from the many culinary experiences they have had on this trip to create their own signatue dishes. These experiences included:

1) cooking group sessions
2) cooking lessons with William
3) cooking lessons with Francesca at LdM
4) the dessert activity with Giovanna
5) the olive oil and balsamic tastings at the residence and at a Florentine vendor's shop
6) the outings with William and LdM to the Central Market
7) the many catered dinners, in which we chose new flavors and dishes to acquaint the students with Florentine specialities
8) the many evenings when the students have ventured out on their own to enjoy Florentine restaurants with restaurant stipends

Faced with this long list of culinary experiences, the students admitted that they were prepared for the challenge!

The staff judges explained that they would be cooking in their own apartments for an hour and a half, during which time they were to devise a menu, complete the cooking, eat together, and then create a tasting dish to present before a panel of judges and the rest of the group. They would be judged upon taste, plate presentation, description, and incorporation of all materials, including the fennel (huh?) and the green golfball (whu?).

So, off they went, and Arthur and I followed, taking photographs of the prep period.

I would have never expected the tasting dishes to come out so well--from my quick visit to each kitchen, things seemed calm and under control, so I assumed the students were playing it safe. But, then, voila, right on time, the students appeared on the terrace ready to present their various interpretations of the raw ingredients. I will let the pictures that follow tell the story.

All the best,
Janet