First Annual Iron Chef Contest at RHS

(February 19, 2008– Riverhead, NY) Chicken breast, fresh baby spinach, rice and a choice of spices were the required food components of the first Iron Chef Competition at Riverhead High School. The four contestants, Tom Edenfield, Tom Cooper, Amanda Racaniello and Julie Zilnicki, were given just one hour to create an extraordinary offering from these ordinary ingredients that would impress the critical eye and discerning palate of the tasting judges: Eric Rickmers, the executive chef of the Jamesport Manor Inn, and RHS alumni Kerri Hamilton, a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration. In addition, the student chefs were monitored on cleanliness and technique by RCSD Food Service Director Karen Ball and food store owner Alice Blackmore. The winner of the RHS contest will represent RHS at the Long Island Competition to be held SCCC's new Culinary Arts and Hospitality building on Roanoke Avenue and Main Street in downtown Riverhead. The winner of the LI competition will receive a full scholarship plus uniforms and books to the new SCCC program.

The savvy cooking confidence of the contestants; the entertaining interviewing techniques of Latin teacher/MC Dr. Jeff Greenberger, a BOCES filming crew and a few local photographers added to the excitement of the event. As classic cooking music played from an iPod, our high school chefs began to work their magic. In the back of the room were their teachers, Janice Szczesny and Amy Doucette of the Family and Consumer Science Department at RHS, friends, families and fans.

Tom Edenfield won the draw, chose his cooking arena, picked his ingredients and began his performance. Dressed in a white chef’s jacket, checked pants and a RHS Blue Waves cap, Tom E. armed himself with a pasta maker, a blender and some of his own tools. He chopped up the greens added some flour and liquid and began making homemade spinach pasta—a creative move. Tom topped the pasta with Alfredo sauce and added strips of chicken breast lightly sautéed in olive oil, garnished with parmesan and mozzarella cheese rice balls.

The other competitors began their foray toward fame at fifteen-minute intervals. Tom E. was followed by Amanda Racaniello, who, while undecided about a future in food preparation, explained that her family enjoyed cooking together and that she was looking forward to making breaded chicken breasts stuffed with spinach and rice, a family favorite.

Fifteen minutes later, Tom Cooper, another serious senior chef, who recently teamed with Tom Edenfield to win third place at a competition involving 14 schools at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, began his food preparations. (Both Tom Cooper and Tom Edenfield, who currently take culinary classes at BOCES and cook at the Jamesport Manor Inn, plan to continue their education in the field of culinary arts.) Tom Cooper began by expertly paring a lemon that he used to make a lemon parsley vinaigrette for his seared chicken breast. His side dishes included sautéed spinach and hot rice with a slightly acidic flavor.

Finally, Julie Zilnicki, who works at the Lobster Roll North and is thinking about becoming a pharmacist, surprised the audience by reaching first for a small bowl of white and dark chocolate. “For my garnish,” she explained. “I’m going to melt the chocolate, apply it to a leaf of basil and put them in the freezer. A short while later, I’ll peel the chocolate off the basil and the imprint of the leaf will remain. It makes a nice garnish.”

Each contestant received a score based on 100 points in six categories. Two 10-point categories were food cleanliness and efficient use of ingredients. Four other criteria—each worth 20 points—were taste and texture, originality and creativity, plate presentation and culinary techniques.

And the winner was—Tom Edenfield. Tom’s next contest will be on March 10 at the Bartenders’ & Chefs’ Ball where he will vie for an $8,000 scholarship to Suffolk County Community College’s new culinary arts program at SCCC’s new Culinary Arts and Hospitality Center in Riverhead.



Related Link: NYS ProStart Culinary Competition