CORRECTION: The second and third place finishers were previously misstated. Sysco Syracuse placed second and The Century Club of Syracuse took third. The Daily Orange regrets this error. 

Delicious smells wafted over Goldstein Auditorium on Sunday afternoon. Chefs frantically chopped, stirred, peeled, sliced and cooked with all their might, hoping to win the title of Syracuse’s first Iron Fork Champion.

In the end, chef Jason Wright and his team from the Brewster Inn came out on top, winning the custom-embroidered Iron Fork chef jackets, engraved knives and trophies.

Sysco Syracuse took the second spot and The Century Club of Syracuse placed third. 

Local Syracuse restaurants in 12 teams of three had 50 minutes to cook three dishes — an appetizer, entree and dessert — for the panel of three judges, including Food Network star and Central New York native Anne Burrell.

The event not only highlighted local foods and chefs, but also a local charity, The Rescue Mission, which feeds the homeless, helped the community in many ways.

Anita Leitgeb of the Rescue Mission was very excited about the event, which was the kickoff event to celebrate the Rescue Mission’s 125th anniversary.

‘People have been very supportive. It was a lot to put together, but it was well done,’ she said.

Like Iron Chef America, one of the inspirations for the event, the floor was set up with stations for the chefs. Each of the four stations, which teams used in a staggered rotation to keep moving, had a stove, oven and counter space where chefs worked their culinary magic.

Another aspect the event borrowed from Iron Chef America was that every dish created by the local talent had to use the secret ingredient, which was fennel, a locally grown herb.

Some of the dishes that the judges sampled were Team Francesca’s Cucina’s shrimp and scallops in a tomato and fennel broth, and Team Sysco Syracuse’s fennel ice cream with a sponge cake and a sabbioni, an Italian sauce.

‘I’m definitely very excited. It’s stressful, but all in all, it’s fun,’ said Kevin Cronin, a member of Team Papa Gallo.

Chris Cesta, a chef who was helping provide chefs with extra ingredients in the pantry, agreed the time limit was tight.

‘But (the time limit) is a big part of a chef’s training and certification,’ he said, referring to the level of expertise needed to craft a restaurant worthy dish.

Despite the time crunch, Randall Colman, a chef at the Inn Between Restaurant who was helping Team Francesca’s Cucina, thought that the Iron Fork event promoted camaraderie among local chefs, which was apparent through the mingling and chatting of the competitors.

‘I think all the chefs like getting together,’ he said.

The dishes presented to the judges weren’t the only thing contributing to the delicious aroma. Guests who had floor tickets tasted a wide variety of food samples from local restaurants. Everything from cheese and wine to dainty desserts and exotic appetizers, like a chicken satay with peanut sauce, were available for sampling.

Craig Brooks of Coffee Mania, a local coffee roaster who attended the event, gave out samples of his coffee and espresso while enjoying the competition.

‘It’s really cool,’ he said. ‘Hopefully they keep on doing it.’

Syracuse University was represented by the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, which helped put on the event. Chef Chris Uyehara, the professor of the university’s pastry class, showed off some of the treats they made.

One of the highlights of the pastry class’s decadent dessert table was a hollowed out strawberry filled with a green, basil-infused caviar, which was created using molecular gastronomy.

‘It’s the kind of thing you would see on the Food Network,’ Uyehara said.

The Iron Fork Competition focused on local talent and ingredients, but it was also important to the culinary world in general. Chef Cesta summed it up:

‘The best chefs in America used to be European, but this is American chefs using local ingredients,’ he said. ‘We have young chefs being inspired by competitions like this.’

amhider@syr.edu

Published on January 29, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Anna: amhider@syr.edu