Liv2Luv: Food: This Is How Atlanta Iron Chefs

Quite a few months ago, while at a Foodspotting event, I met some foodies who mentioned they hold and participate in a local Iron Chef competition. Naturally, I wanted in. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to flex my culinary skills in my first Atlanta Iron Chef Competition.

Here's the lowdown: On Friday, the secret ingredient is emailed to all participating chefs. All chefs are amateurs and the secret ingredient is randomly generated from an on-going list created by all participants. The chefs then have until Sunday late afternoon/evening to perfect their assigned dish (appetizer, entree or dessert) before presenting to the judges. On Sunday, the chefs present their dishes to the judges who then critic the food on taste/primacy (10 pts), presentation (5 pts), and originality (5pts). There is an opportunity for 1 bonus point- a chef can earn this point by creating a beverage with the secret ingredient and the judges have to unanimously like it. So in the end there is an opportunity for a total of 21 points per judge. The points are tallied, scores/winners are announced and the new champion then hosts the next competition. We take our food seriously but it's all in fun and for the love of food.

This last go round the secret ingredient was ricotta cheese. It being my first time, I was unaware of anyone else's skill level so I had to make sure that I thought outside of the box and brought my A game. I didn't want to do Italian, I didn't want to make pasta and I didn't want to stuff anything. I came up with a ricotta burger with a garlic ricotta dressing, onions reduced in a tomato sauce, arugula and an asiago cheese crisp. I thought to myself, "A burger is pretty American... hmm... what's a burger without a shake." I then added a chocolate ricotta shake to my arsenal. My creativity paid off and I placed 2nd out of 9 dishes. The winner made a crostini with caramelized onions, fig preserves and HOMEMADE ricotta. Yes, homemade ricotta. It was delicious and worthy of the win.

I had great fun and am looking forward to the next competition. But the other chefs better watch their backs because I am in it for the win! (photo recap below)