Photo courtesy Nicole Ruiz Hudson
Coordinating chef demonstrations at The International Culinary Center has introduced me to a number of chef’s and food professionals who’ve kept me on my toes and constantly learning, but never has that been truer than when Rob Bleifer, Executive Chef of Food Network Kitchens (and my former boss!) visited the Amphitheater for a Chopped-style cooking challenge.
Photo courtesy Nicole Ruiz Hudson
Chef Rob is one of the mischievous masterminds behind the challenging, and sometimes scary, mystery baskets on the popular Food Network reality cooking show Chopped. My team and I thought it would be fun to turn the tables and challenge Chef Rob to stand in the competitors shoes for a change, so we created three mystery baskets featuring everything from octopus, Japanese eggplant, seaweed-wrapped rice puffs, and the strangely sweet Yakult yogurt drink.
Photo courtesy Nicole Ruiz Hudson
He had 90 minutes to prepare three dishes for a panel of judges, which included Ed McFarland of Ed’s Lobster Bar, Melissa O’Donnell of SaltBar, and Dean Andre Soltner. I had the pleasure of playing the role of both moderator and sous chef to Chef Rob and enjoyed every minute of watching him sweat and think on his feet. It was not an easy challenge by any means, but he was a great sport and created three very interesting and tasty dishes, all while letting us witness how a chef’s mind works under pressure.
One of our students, Nicole Ruiz Hudson, author of Nibbling Gipsy, has all the details on the challenge, including a play by play of each dish and Food Network scoop, over at the FCI Hot Plate blog.
Tara O'Keeffe