Only two University of Idaho student chefs will emerge victorious as Vandal Iron Chef Champions after they put their culinary skills to the test in a team-based cook-off.
The second annual Iron Chef competition will be hosted in Bob’s Place Thursday, and two teams of two students each will be chosen from the crowd to cook a dish to impress the judges. Following this, two Vandal Dining chefs will compete with leftover ingredients to create a savory dish to be scored.
UI Campus Dietitian Marissa Rudley said the winning student team will receive gift cards to the Vandal Bookstore and to any Vandal Dining vendor. The winning team’s dish will also be served as an entree at Bob’s Place at some point after the competition, Rudley said. However, competitors are under pressure to think of a meal and then prepare it in under 25 minutes.
“(Students) are going to have to think quickly on their feet,” Rudley said. “Students get so into this, they have sweat dripping off their faces to show off their cooking skills.”
She had no comment on the ingredients students will have at their disposal. But Rudley said students will work with regional and local seasonal ingredients, as well as products from Vandal Meats.
The student Iron Chef completion will start at 5:30 p.m. and the Vandal Dining Iron Chefs will follow an hour later. Between the competitions, Rudley said she will rely on students to volunteer to help with clean up, as well as setting up and tearing down the Iron Chef workspace.
“We are relying on student volunteers to help make this happen,” Rudley said.
George Wood can be reached at [email protected]