It was an intense competition worthy of the famous television show after which it was named.  The Iron Chef competition that took place during the Bridgeport High School Foods classes on Thursday  were also true to the format on the show.  Competing teams were given “secret ingredients” at the onset of the contest and challenged to create recipes integrating those ingredients.

 

For Ben Woods and his team, the secret ingredient was fajita seasoning.  The challenging part for them was using it in a breakfast recipe, in a very small space, and with a limited amount of time in which to create it.  Woods’ team rose to the challenge and finished in first place, winning a signed spoon and cutting board presented by Assistant Principal and judge Matt Demotto. 

 

“We wanted to create a recipe that was unlike any other,” said Woods, who prepared Summer Welsh Rarebit, a typical breakfast in the United Kingdom.  “The planning process was quite detailed.  We spent time researching recipes, ingredients, and which team members would do what so we could avoid chaos on the day of the event.” 

 

Foods teacher, Anita Horner, was also pleased with the way the students worked together to make successful recipes. 

 

“The students really took the competition seriously and were able to not only learn to be creative with the recipes, but were able to learn valuable skills such as time management and delegation,” she said.

 

In addition to the Summer Welsh Rabbit, judges were treated to some traditional breakfasts such as cinnamon toast, crepes, frittatas, casseroles and classic bacon and eggs.  With teachers and administrators serving as judges, participants dishes were rated on eye appeal, uniqueness, color, texture, aroma, taste, degree of difficulty and overall presentation.