I've taken this idea and put a fun twist on it for my 12 and 10 year-old sons to experiment with food and cooking in a controlled environment, namely my kitchen, where I have immediate access to a fire extinguisher, first-aid supplies, and a garbage can. As the "responsible" parent, I choose the secret ingredient. Examples of past secret ingredients include: peanut butter, popcorn, steak, etc. Last week we had our "celery and carrot" challenge. Each contestant makes three or four dishes with the secret ingredient, and is judged on:
- Taste (15 points)
- Presentation and plating (10 points)
- Originality (10 points)
Chef Austin's Dishes
Chef Austin's first dish (left) was "cowboy stew" made with rehydrated beef jerky (no kidding), pearl onions, carrots, and celery. This dish was simmered for several minutes to reconstitute the beef jerky, which imparted a flavorful, albeit strange, taste to the stew.
Chef Austin's second dish (right) was "frogs on a log" which was carrot morsels on a bed of veggie dip, encapsulated by a fresh stalk of celery. This was a nice variation of the classic "ants on a log" treat that so many kids have come to hate.
Finally, Chef Austin's last dish was a sesame spinach and grilled celery salad (below). The celery was drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil and grilled to imperfection, on top of a bed of fresh spinach drenched in pungent sesame seed oil. Unfortunately, this dish was so over-seasoned with sesame seed oil it had to be gently carried outside because the pungent sesame seed oil was starting to peel the paint off the walls! Unfortunately, it was inedible.... very inedible, in fact it was probably toxic. So it was judged on originality, and presentation, but not taste.
Chef Mitchel's Dishes
The reigning champion and venerable Chef Mitchel has taken a safer approach to the carrot and celery challenge.
We start with a celery and carrot sandwich (below). Finely chopped carrots and celery mixed with veggie dip served on calcium fortified white bread. A cute little bite out of the corner helped to score points for presentation.
Next up on Chef Mitchel's menu was a "sunshine celery and carrot" medley (below). This delightfully fresh and fun dish was garnished with tangerines. Each carrot was carefully cut to size and embedded in a stalk of celery. The combination of carrot and celery together in one tidy package gave a crunch-crunch goodness that was sure to loosen a few fillings.
Chef Mitchel's final dish was a geometrical tribute to celery and carrots (below). Inspired by the architectural lines of Frank Lloyd Wright, this dish combines thinly sliced strips of celery, with carrots and a glob of vegetable dip. Definitely playing it safe with this dish, but the presentation was fun.
And the winner is...
It was a close competition: Chef Austin took some challenges with the sesame spinach and grilled celery salad, unfortunately, the toxic nature of the dish made a sour burp a welcome experience. Chef Mitchel took a safe approach and literal interpretations of each plate, each of which were edible - in fact, the celery and carrot sandwich was quite good!
In the end: Chef Mitchel was awarded
31/35 total points, and Chef Austin earned 29/35 total points.
In the final analysis
We always have a lot of fun with Iron Chef - Kid Stadium and my boys have developed a new found taste for celery (which I didn't think was possible). More importantly, we made some great memories, have new stories to share, and learned some basic kitchen skills. Oh, and it encourages some creative thinking.... which may come in handy in their future endeavors.
