[Sca-cooks] Pennsic Iron Chef Results

[Dunbar, Debra]

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Greetings!
I'm Baroness Rhiall of Wystanesdon (better known as "Wrynne").  Count
Gunthar asked me to post the results of a Pennsic IronChef contest held at
Chez D'Argent this year.

This was a "first annual" for us, so we invited a limited number of people.
Contestants picked an evening to showcase their foods, drew the name of
their theme ingredient out of a "hat" and started planning!  Cooks could
make between 1-4 dishes that highlighed their theme ingredient - this
ingredient was chosen at the beginning of the war to allow people plenty of
time to shop and plan.

I'm almost embarassed to report the results because I won.  That's so tacky
- winning your own contest!  I swear it wasn't rigged! LOL.

Iron Chef Baron Havelyard drew "ginger" as his theme ingredient.  (This guy
is truly an amazing cook and specializes in Asian and Indian)  He did a dish
of eggrolls with shrimp and ginger, an awesome sobe noodle soup with a
ginger broth, pork meatballs stuffed with ginger on rice (sooo good I ate
the leftovers cold for lunch the next day!), and an amazing ginger/vanilla
custard with some fruit.

Iron Chef Baron Silver (Damon Argent) drew "almonds" as his theme
ingredient.  He did smoked duck with an almond crust, a great toasted almond
pilaf (yum yum!), and a creamy coffee/almond drink (yes, very late period
for coffee drinks!)

I drew "roots" (terribly exciting ingredient!) and did a Moroccan couscous
with stir fried veggies and a harissa sauce (veggies were carrots, radishes,
leeks, onions, some wilted parsley and spinach, and I threw in some
chickpeas), then I had a beef round roast that I had marinated overnight in
herbs and rice vinegar - I smoked it with only beer in the smoker pan and no
wood chips and served it with a horsradish/soy/pepper sauce (the sauce was
my root), the third dish was a parsnip/carrot puree that I sweetened with
dark honey and vanilla and cream and served hot, then I finished with a
layered rice pudding, ginger cookie, and mashed yam thing (I just threw it
together and don't know how "period" it was.  Aren't yams African?)

My favorite dish was the couscous - spicy, but well balanced, veggie
friendly and good enough to satisfy the meat lovers, but my judges rated me
highest on the puree.  When I brought it out there were lots of "baby food"
comments, but it was a big hit.

Scores were:
Silver - 92.2
Havelyard- 92.36
Wrynne- 93.3

Below is the judging criteria and points.  Each dish was rated and the score
averaged, then all judges' scores were averaged.

Appearance - 10  Is the food just slopped on the plate?  Is it artfully
presented with garnish?  Is it an appealing color, or does it look like
bacon grease that's been on the stove for a few hours?  Please award 1-10
points for this dish with 10 being the best score.

General Taste - 40 Is it so good you could eat it until you exploded?  Good,
but not something you would order given a choice?  Not worthy of your worst
enemy?  Please award 1-40 points with 40 being the best score.

Use of Theme Ingredient - 25  What theme ingredient, or "jeez, I can't taste
anything BUT the theme ingredient"?  The ingredient should be clearly
present and supported by the other ingredients as the "star" of the dish in
order to get top points on this one.  Please award 1-25 points with 25 being
the best score.

SCA Period food - 15  Please allow some latitude with this one.  Maybe your
persona wouldn't have been exposed to it, but if it is within the realm of
possibility then give it some points!  The chef should be able to give some
background on the dish supporting it's authenticity.  Please award 1-15
points with 15 being the best score.

Creativity - 10  Flambé Ostrich beaks?  Sweet garlic mousse?  Is the dish
really creative, or just another cinnamon chicken?  Please award 1-10 points
with 10 being the best score.

Annoying Chef - 2  Go ahead, be mean!  Take 1-2 points off the total score
of the dish if you wanted to throw spit balls at the chef's head.
Total Score for Dish #1

I have some ideas for next year and need some feedback!  I'm thinking of
opening it up to everyone, and having them cook at the same time and with
the same theme ingredient.  I could maybe do it as an A&S thing.  Would it
be too cumbersome for people to bring all their cooking gear up to an A&S
tent?  If we knew the ingredient ahead of time and were allowed to prep
would that make it easier?

Thoughts?

Cheers!
Wrynne
Oh- I've used Splenda to make "mundane" muffins and it has worked out well.
I like that you measure it cup-for-cup as sugar rather than trying to do
some conversion to determine the appropriate "sweetness".