Release Date: Thursday, March 17th 2011

Post-Gazette: Local chefs compete at Fairmont Pittsburgh

Local chefs compete at Fairmont Pittsburgh

Thursday, March 17, 2011
By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Line cooks do much of the prep and cooking in restaurant kitchens, but get none of the glory; if your meal is delicious, praise typically goes to the big-name executive chef.

That doesn't mean they don't know food.

Here's what cook Jason Sherrill whipped up to win last week's "Iron Chef Habitat" toque-to-toque competition at the Fairmont Pittsburgh, and with just an hour to come up with the recipe: tuna poached in paprika-infused olive oil and then drizzled with a savory-sweet miso barbecue sauce. He paired it with a salad of roasted baby zucchini, carrots and asparagus tossed with shallots, capers and vinaigrette.

Seared and grilled foods require a really good sauce, Mr. Sherrill, 32, explains. "And I thought the smoked paprika in the poaching oil would play well with a barbecue sauce. I wanted a little Asian flair."

Competitor Michael Rapuk's second-place dish also had a taste of the Orient. His paired coriander-crusted tuna with pickled Asian vegetables and a sweet balsamic chili sauce.

This is the first year for the cooking competition, organized by executive chef Andrew Morrison as a way to generate ideas for the restaurant's spring menu. Last Wednesday's smackdown was the final of three rounds staged over three weeks, and like the hit TV show it was modeled after, kept cooks in the dark about a basket of "secret" ingredients until just a half hour or so before show time. (Both finalists knew a couple days in advance they'd be building a dish around tuna.)

The cooks had an hour to prepare their entrees with at least three ingredients from the mystery basket, which included lemon, sunchokes, baby potatoes, shallots and artichokes. Helping Chef Morrison judge the final product's taste and presentation were Fairmont Pittsburgh general manager Len Czarnecki, "Edible Allegheny" executive editor Victoria Bradley and Gary Saulson, director of corporate real estate for The PNC Financial Services Group.

In addition to bragging rights -- no small thing in a career as competitive as the culinary arts -- Mr. Sherrill's winning dish netted him a one-night stay at the luxury hotel. He and his wife also will enjoy dinner for two at Habitat, though whether or not they'll be able to order his tuna dish depends on when they make reservations.

"We have to tweak it to make sure it can be produced consistently and quickly," he says.

Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1419.

First published on March 17, 2011 at 12:00 am

Read more: http://postgazette.com/pg/11076/1132389-46.stm#ixzz1GsGsywDS