Its 1:30pm and I’m a half hour early for the Campfire Cooking Challenge in Central Park.
Sitting on a dampened bench from the morning rain, I nibbled on a free bag of Pop Chips. I watched the faux grass stage in front of me as members of Adventure NYC set up three Jet Boil brand propane cooking stations, stocked two shelved pantries with cooking items, and adjusted mirrors over two large work tables, tilting them to an angle that allowed the audience to view the table surfaces.Three chefs (including one I instantly recognized from Top Chef Masters) would soon entertain an enthusiastic audience preparing gourmet but authentic camp-inspired dishes while awkwardly squatting over propane burners.
I was thrilled to have a front row seat.
The competing chefs were:
Lee Ann Wong - chef, TV producer and contestant on Top Chef Season 1.
Michelle Perello - chef of Frances in San Francisco.
Tim Love - chef of The Lonesome Dove in Ft. Worth and contestant on Top Chef Masters.
Le Ann Wong tastes her dish.
Michelle Perello sautes after adding olive oil.
The three chefs battled it out cooking one land and one sea protein each that they selected via a draw of chef knives in the same manner you’ve seen on any cooking reality show.
Land proteins included rack of lamb, rabbit and duck. Sea proteins included manila clams, sockeye salmon, and trout.
At the start of the 45 minute cook session, I eagerly watched prep work in the mirrors over the table. (Ingenious idea to whoever thought of it!)
The chefs’ true personalities were displayed in their cooking style as the clock ticked away.
Michelle quietly and calmly cooked, spending the majority of her time at the prep table. Lee Ann grew increasingly frantic. Her malfunctioning propane burner only added to her anxiety. Tim Love remained witty and smooth while cooking and answering the emcee’s questions. Tim even kept his Southern charm going after accidentally flipping his pan seared trout right onto the faux grass floor.
The emcee holds up the duck for the audience.
The panel of judges off to the side had the opportunity to taste the following savory dishes:
Michelle
Dish 1: Steamed clams with fennel, chorizo, and Porcini mushrooms
Dish 2: Rabbit Cacciatore style with a wine reduction
Lee Ann
Dish 1. Miso marinated lamb with braised beans
Dish 2. Spicy seared salmon with an Asian sauce served over couscous with an asparagus, tarragon, shallot salad
Tim
Dish 1. Crispy duck served over chili garlic Ramen noodles
Dish 2. Trout stuffed with a tomato and chili hash.
Presentation of the watch to Michelle.
The winner of the challenge was Michelle Perello who the judges agreed had the best tasting dishes by far. Her prize was a Victorinox Swiss Army watch presented by their spokesperson and a trip for two to Switzerland.
This was the first live cooking competition I’ve attended. I have to say, its just like watching Top Chef on TV, except for two key differences. In person you can smell the food (hooray!), but you never get to see the appearance of the final dish (boo!)
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