Buffalo Rising Online

May 22nd 2007, 4:09pm By Christa Glennie Seychew

In addition to steaming thermo-circulators, whirring food processors, and mind-blowing knife skills, common and odd ingredients used in innovative and often bizarre concoctions (ice cream made of raw trout) have moved Iron Chef America to the top of the Food Network's line-up. With that in mind, I decided to conduct a mini version of their weekly program with a handful of local chefs. Granted we were sans tv cameras, the fully-equipped Kitchen Stadium and our time constraints differed slightly (more on that to follow), but it was a challenge for our eager chefs nonetheless.

The premise of Iron Chef America is that chefs are given one hour to develop and prepare five dishes showcasing a “surprise” ingredient. Iron Chef America requires quick thinking, creativity and tremendous skills from each of its contestants, but unbeknownst to the average viewer, it is also a little shady with a few of the details.

Chefs are given a list of three potential “surprise” ingredients three months prior to the event. They are then able to craft and practice five dishes for each of the three ingredients. A list of their “dream” ingredients is sent to the producers of the program, allowing each contestant the opportunity to stretch their skills and imagination with exotic and expensive components. The chosen ingredient is not announced until the taping, but chefs are certainly more prepared than one might think. Additionally, after the Chairman dramatically discloses the ingredient, chefs have 15-20 minutes to discuss a plan of action with their sous chefs.

That being said, our situation was quite different. Lack of a “Kitchen Stadium” left us unable to conduct one-on-one timed battles. Instead, we chose seven local chefs to compete in our first of this series entitled Buffalo Rising's Chef's Challenge. Each participating restaurant was given the mystery ingredient and 24 hours (give or take a few) to prepare cuisine featuring that ingredient. We were pleased and excited by how many of these local restaurants were eager and enthusiastic about the project.

On a Tuesday afternoon, seven bags containing a supply of the ingredient were delivered to chefs at the seven participating local establishments. Our contestants included (here in alphabetical order) Amaryllis, Left Bank, Mode, North End, Sample, Shango and Torches. None of the chefs with the exception of Jenn at Amaryllis had worked with the product before, and she had only limited exposure to it.

I returned the following Wednesday to take pictures and sample the various dishes. Over the course of the next few weeks, you can tune into Buffalo Rising on Tuesdays and Thursdays to see the results of our culinary adventure. Each part of the series will feature one of the participants. I will begin this Thursday with the first restaurant to place in our Honorable Mention category and then work our way through each contestant (one per post) until we reach our winner.

For this, the first of our Challenge series, I chose the humble and internationally utilized Chayote as our mystery ingredient. I elected it for its texture (it remains firm when cooked), its flavor (it has a mild flavor and can therefore be used in myriad preparations) and its versatility (it can be served raw, steamed, braised, roasted, sauteed- well, you get the picture).

When I dropped off the ingredient, I included a brief description of the item, which I've posted below.

We'll see you here Thursday when we announce our first restaurant, which placed in the Honorable Mention category.

_“Chayote is a pear-shaped summer squash which is grown in warm, tropical climates. Though it is most often connected with cuisines from the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America, it is used all over the world, including India, Australia, France, Japan and Norway. In other countries it is known by many names, some of which are Chayota, Chocho, Cho Cho, Christophine and Mirliton.

Chayote is available in a number of varieties. They are pale green or white and have either a smooth or prickly skin. We are using smooth-skinned, green Chayote. The interior boasts a firm, white meat and a single, soft seed, which is considered edible by some.”_

See you Thursday!

Photo by Christa Glennie Seychew