Friday, April 24, 2009

‘Iron Chef’ concludes B.U.G.G.S. month

By Lauren Rothering
Copy Editor

The Common Room was transformed into “Kitchen Stadium” at the first Saint Mary’s University “Iron Chef” competition, held April 19.

Nine student and faculty teams made dishes using the secret ingredient, black olives. According to Amira Sadek, an organizer for the event, black olives were chosen as the secret ingredient both as a nod to Palestinian farmers who harvest olives and because the olive branch is a worldwide symbol of peace.

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Three judges, Brother Stephen Rusyn, Dr. Gary Diomandes and Joe Piscitiello, rated each team’s dishes based on originality, taste, presentation and use of the secret ingredient.

The winner of the competition was Team One, consisting of JM Montecalvo, Nick Montecalvo, Kelsey Cowan and Sarah St. Laurent. They made homemade ravioli with goat cheese scallions and a four-olive cream sauce, with olive and basil ice cream for dessert.

The runner-up was Team Three, whose members included Gary Borash, Ryan Langr, Leah Hoglin and Sarah Mueller. Their menu consisted of Jimmy Dean wantons, stuffed chicken parmesan and chocolate olive cake, a favorite of the attendees of the competition.

There was also a competition among the teams to see who could sell the most tickets to the event. Team Six, composed of Ruth Sobrevilla, Aga Kadej, Radek Tomczak and Kuba Szymanski, won this portion of the competition, selling over 45 tickets.

Spectators were able to sample each of the teams’ dishes and also enjoy falafel sandwiches, hummus and tabouleh, a dish made from a variety of ingredients including parsley, mint, tomato, scallions and other herbs.

“Iron Chef” was a part of B.U.G.S.S. month, an effort to raise awareness and money for Bethlehem University Gaza Student Scholarships. Overall, Sadek estimates all B.U.G.G.S. month events, including the “Iron Chef” competition, raised around $1,500 for scholarships.

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