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https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/STEPHEN-FRIES-Save-your-appetite-for-Iron-Chef-11549746.php
STEPHEN FRIES: Save your appetite for Iron Chef Elm City April 22 (video)
Stephen Fries, Food Scene Columnist
Published 12:00 am EDT, Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale photo: Jeremy Martindale of the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale will compete this year.
Gateway Community College, where I am on the faculty, and Visit New Haven, will turn up the heat once again for the fifth annual Iron Chef Elm City competition at 11:45 a.m. April 22 at Delia, the Viking Center of New England, in Wallingford.
The event's format is based on the Food Network's "Iron Chef" and features culinary experts as judges. I am delighted to produce the event at Delia, where attendees will be able to walk around the kitchen and be in the middle of the action. I hope you can attend. What a great way to showcase New Haven's talented chefs. Gateway hospitality and culinary students will be on hand assisting the chefs.
This year, we have chef David Brooks, owner of Judies European Bakery; chef Ben Gaffney of Atticus Bookstore-Cafe; and Jeremy Martindale, executive chef at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, going toque to toque.
The chefs will be provided with a list of five possible "secret" ingredients a week before the event. At the competition, the "secret" ingredient will be revealed, and the chefs will be required to create an appetizer, entree and dessert using the ingredient. Past year's secret ingredients were Calabro Cheese, Lyman Orchards' apples, Willoughby's coffee and Hooker Beer. Jim Masters, TV and radio personality, will be the emcee.
Todd Lyon, restaurant writer and co-owner of Fashionista Vintage and Variety Store, and Mike Devlin, pastry instructor at Gateway Community College, will be the kitchen commentators.
Celebrity judges include Pam Anderson, a New York Times best-selling author, former executive editor of Cook's Illustrated, AARP's official food expert, food columnist for USA Weekend and Runner's World magazines; Sarah Breckenridge, senior web producer for Fine Cooking magazine, where she oversees videos, interactive Recipe Makers, mobile apps, e-newsletters and an online community of passionate cooks; and Jane Stern, co-author of dozens of cookbooks and best known for her "Roadfood" series and "Roadfood" column in Gourmet magazine.
Chef Prasad Chirnomula of Thali took home the top prize in 2011.
Jocelyn Ruggiero aka Foodie Fatale, a well-known food writer and blogger, performer and passionate Connecticut locavore, will be the judging commentator.
The reception includes tastings from the competing restaurants, samples by the "secret ingredient" provider, Bertolotti Desserts, Calabro Cheese, Chabaso Bakery, Gelato Giulana, Sabra Hummus and Willoughby's Coffee. There will be a raffle for a chance to taste dishes prepared at the competition, as well as a silent auction. Tickets at $35 and $55 for preferred viewing (very limited availability) can be purchased by calling 203-777-8550 or 203-415-3519. Proceeds benefit a scholarship for hospitality management students at Gateway Community College. And now, a bit about the competitors.
David Brooks is an award-winning chef and the owner of New Haven's Judies European Bakery. Dave, who was raised in Germany and schooled in New York at the Culinary Institute of America, came from a background of art and music. Cooking, he says, is in the same ballpark. It's certainly about bringing guests pleasure and rewarding them with new or remembered experiences. Dave's early culinary experiences include cooking at the five-star Le Bernardin Restaurant in New York City and at Le Panetiere Restaurant in Rye, N.Y., before switching gears and going into baking and entrepreneurship by taking over Judies European Baked Goods in 1997. The bakery has evolved into a vibrant cafe and serves breakfast and lunch weekdays while catering events and baking breads and pastries for wholesale distribution seven days a week. Dave says his idea of a great day is "being able to cook a giant pot of soup to share with his loyal patrons on a cold wintery day. Being a business owner can pull you away from the things you love to do like cooking, so it's important as an entrepreneur to keep your hand in the creativity and quality aspects of your business."
Ben Gaffney has been working in great restaurants since he was old enough to wield a chef's knife. He developed his love for the restaurant life while tagging along with his chef father. Much of Ben's adulthood has been spent in the warm climates of New Orleans, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Ben worked for Chef Emeril Lagasse as his pastry chef in New Orleans, Orlando, and finally opening Emeril's Miami Beach restaurant. Ben says that Chef Emeril's high energy and fast pace taught him a lot about working hard while still having fun in the business.
Jeremy Martindale has cooked his way through some of the world's finest hotels and resort properties, so he is an expert at melding worldly sophistication with the best of local fare. In 1997, Chef Jeremy found his way to the stunning Little Dix Bay Resort in the British Virgin Islands as executive chef. At Little Dix Bay, Chef Jeremy received many awards, including Hotels magazine's 1998 Great Hotel Restaurants of the World. He then took the helm in Broomfield, Colo., at the famed Omni Interlocken Resort, a Mobil Four Star, AAA four diamond property. After four years at the Omni Interlocken Resort, Chef Jeremy was promoted to corporate task force chef for Omni Hotels. Now Chef Jeremy has settled down at the Omni New Haven at Yale.
During his time at the Omni New Haven at Yale, Chef Jeremy has won numerous awards, including a highly prestigious dinner at the James Beard House in New York City.
The Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale is the home of John Davenport's Restaurant. This sanctuary of fine food and drink features a wrap-around view of New Haven's rich history. It's hard to tell which is more enticing: the millions of stars spread across the nighttime sky, the glittering landmarks below, stunning views of Long Island Sound or Chef Jeremy Martindale's contemporary cuisine.
Watch WTNH-8's "CT Style" at 12:30 April 16 when one of the competitors will be cooking up an interesting dish.
-A Perfect Dinner, demo cooking class with Jeremy Martindale, executive chef at Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale, 6:30 p.m. April 9, Delia, the Viking Center of New England, 4 Laser Lane, Wallingford, $60 per person, but mention seeing this here and buy one and get one free, 203-303-2000, ext. 376. Menu includes chicken spring rolls with citrus vinaigrette and sweet chili sauce, grilled asparagus with poached egg and truffle, seared diver scallops with seared potatoes and apple-citrus saffron vinaigrette. For dessert it's a cookie dough spring roll with strawberries and vanilla ice cream.
-Fifth annual Taste of P.L.A.C.E, a benefit for Greater New Haven's Multicultural Children's Museum and Creative Arts Center, 6-9 p.m. April 12, Reclamation Lumber, 424 Grand Ave., New Haven, www.placechildrensmuseum.org, 203-288-8600. Chef demos and live music, $50 in advance, $55 at door, children $10, includes food, wine and beer. International dishes will be prepared by Caseus, Oaxaca Kitchen, Thali, Barcelona, Central Park Tavern, Zafra, Pacifico.
-Worth Tasting, guided three-and-a-half-hour culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, 10:45 a.m. April 28, rain or shine, $59, 203-777-8550 or 203-415-3519, reservations required. Enjoy tasty samplings from many of New Haven's favorites. You won't be hungry after this tour. I will lead this one. More at http://stephenfries.com/Worth_Tasting.html.
Contact Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen.fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 60 Sargent Drive, New Haven 06511. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to www.stephenfries.com.
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