Rare Grill House chef repeats as Iron Chef
Once again Chef Tyler Scott has proven himself a worthy competitor after winning the Iron Chef Market Cook-Off Challenge for the second year in a row.
Scott, with Rare Grill House in downtown Peterborough, along with three other chefs from the area, competed in the sixth-annual event at the Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market on Wednesday.
The other chefs were Lorianne Cicchillo, with Algonquin Catering, Mike Sterpin, with Club Café at the YMCA, and Connor Reinhart, with the soon-to-be-opening Boardwalk Board Game Lounge on George Street.
They each used a basket of fresh local products, which included ground lamb, sourced from market vendors to come up with unique dishes made on-site.
Each chef was also given $10 in Nourish Market Dollars to purchase a special ingredient of their choice from any vendor.
They each had 1 1/2 hours to create their dish before it was sampled by a panel of judges and a winner was declared.
“It was a hard competition across the board. I think everyone brought their A game,” Scott said after winning. “But most importantly, we promoted the market down here, which is why we are all really here — and to have fun.”
Scott made a lamb maple merguez and topped it with a fried egg. On the side he made a blue potato dish with kale, fried oyster mushrooms with onions and garlic, and an apple, fennel slaw with spinach, a little bit of honey and dill pickle brine.
“Last year’s competition was a little earlier in the year, so the ingredients varied a little bit, which was a nice change up,” Scott said.
He added that he enjoys competing in the event because it helps support the downtown market.
“I’m here every Wednesday anyways, so I might as well cook,” he said.
Judges Bonnie Kubica, a past Iron Chef winner and owner of BE Catering, Teresa Kaszuba, from CHEX-TV, Town Ward Coun. Dean Pappas and his daughter Toula had a tough time picking a winner.
In fact, Scott edged out the other chefs by only half a point.
“It was really, really hard to decide. Everything was amazing … and they all used all of the ingredients which is really hard … to pull it all together,” said Kubica, who spoke on behalf of the judges.
She praised each chef’s dish saying she had them all tied.
First time competitor Mike Sterpin said he enjoyed the challenge and experience of coming up with a unique dish on the fly. He ended up making a Downtown Peterborough Farmers’ Market Fall Carpaccio with beets, apple and fennel.
“(A carpaccio) is normally done with raw beef that’s quickly marinated with lemon juice and olive oil and Parmesan cheese, so this is just a little play on that,” Sterpin said. “With the lamb I did a Scotch egg meat loaf. There was a hard-boiled egg inside the meat loaf and I sliced it with smashed olive oil purple potatoes and sautéed oyster mushrooms and spinach.”
The Peterborough Downtown Farmers’ Market on Charlotte Street, between Aylmer and George, is open every Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The final market of the season is Oct. 31.