Nine Ottumwa High School student chefs recently competed in the 2018 Southeast Iowa Iron Chef Competition, sponsored by Indian Hills Community College Culinary Arts Department and The American Culinary Federation of Southeast Iowa. The OHS team competed against seven area schools.
Students prepare weeks ahead of time, deciding on an appetizer, main entree, and dessert based on the competition criteria. This semester's criteria was Latin American-themed menu and flank steak needed to be in the main entree. Indian Hills' meat distributors donate the meat for competition, cutting costs when purchasing the practice and competition ingredients. The menu is a joint decision. They then practice multiple times with practice judges at OHS to help prepare them for the big event.
On competition day, the students have two hours to create their meal while the judges walk around judging. Students are judged on the kitchen floor, knife skills/proper cuts, sanitation, food handling, proper cooking procedures. and clean-up. When the judges are presented and taste the food, they judge taste and appearance. They also ask students questions about how they prepared the dish and the thought process that went into deciding on how to tie all the dishes together.
Chefs included: Starter/Appetizer Chefs: Mini Phyllo Tacos
- Sheyla Ortiz
- Katie Batterson
Main Entree Chefs: Grilled Mojo Beef with Green Mexican Rice
- Mi Phyo
- Abby Contreras
Dessert Chefs: Chocolate Dulce de Leche Empanadas
- Cheyenne Reed
- Haley Heiss
"This is a great opportunity for students to step out of their shell and take pride in their work," said Heather Crandall, Family and Consumer Science instructor.
