Originally published in the Lebanon Reporter on April 13, 2006
Kitchen Stadium. A secret ingredient. Four superstar chefs. This may sound like Iron Chef, the Japanese TV cult sensation or its U.S. version, Iron Chef America, but this particular competition took place last Sunday in Indianapolis. Indy’s Ultimate Chef is an annual fundraiser for Indianapolis-based Second Helpings, a food rescue, job training, and hunger relief organization. Thanks to a press pass, I had a front row seat, backstage access, and a fork to try out all the dishes.
With all the fanfare of a rock concert, the four chefs exhibited their culinary skills in front of an audience of several hundred people assembled at the American Cabaret Theatre. After their introduction, this year’s secret ingredient was revealed - potatoes. From my front-row seat I could see each of the competitor’s wheels begin to turn. Although the feature ingredient was potatoes, the chefs could visit the center-stage pantry set up with all sorts of goodies - meats, herbs, dairy products, and all the other items they would need to create their works of food-art.
This year’s competitors included the return of last year’s champion, Ricardo DeLeon, the Executive Chef at Conseco Fieldhouse. If you’ve ever been fortunate to dine in one of the luxury suits while watching the Pacers, you’ve experienced Chef DeLeon’s work. Another previous competitor was Kathy Jones, Co-Owner and Chef of Decadent by Design Café in Indianapolis’ historic Fountain Square neighborhood. Kathy specializes in fresh seafood and Caribbean-inspired flavors.
Two new chefs to this year’s competition included Chip Huckaby and Deidra Henry. Chef Huckaby is a second generation chef and learned the ropes at the side of Carl, his father. Together they run the show at Chez Jean in Camby, Indiana. Chef Henry is an Indianapolis native educated at Purdue and Johnson and Wales University. She is the Chef and Co-Owner of Taste Café and Marketplace, a popular breakfast and lunch spot south of Broad Ripple.
Each chef, aided by a graduate of Second Helping’s culinary training program, had an exactly an hour to prepare their dish for a panel of judges. Thanks to sizzle-by-sizzle commentary, a roving camera, and a giant projection video unit, the audience was able to keep up with the progress of each chef.
The judges were first to taste and then about 70 people, including yours truly, got to sample the goods. The first dish to arrive at my table was defending champion DeLeon’s - mashed potatoes with mixed-in grilled shrimp and sautéed spinach served over wild mushroom ragout. Deep-fried potato peels were used as a garnish (photo here). The dish was hearty and flavorful but the taste of the shrimp kind of got lost among everything else that was going on.
Next was Chef Jones’s mashed potato-stuffed pork loin accented with tropical fruits and jalapeño (photo here). The result was clean and simple but lacking the wow factor. The third dish was Chef Huckaby’s tri-tip beef with Maytag blue cheese potato cakes and a red pepper sauce (photo here). The beef was tender but the potato cakes a bit rubbery due, I’m sure, to the lack of heat available from the stand-alone burners that were part of the kitchen set-up. This dish did, however, have an unexpected heat that surprised my palate after the last bite.
The last dish I tasted was the standout of the competition - Chef Henry’s Wild Salmon with shoestring potatoes and cilantro topped with a traditional Hollandaise (photo here). Every single ingredient of this dish was distinct but all worked together in perfect harmony. My choice of this as the best in show was affirmed when the judges selected Chef Deidra Henry as Indy’s Ultimate Chef for 2006.
This was a great event for an even greater cause. Lebanon-area native Nora Spitznogle, who works for Second Helpings, hooked me up with the press pass. Thanks Nora. For more information about Second Helpings visit their website and the next time you are in Indy, stop in for breakfast or lunch at Taste Café and Marketplace ( 52nd and College) and congratulate Chef Henry.
More photos of the event are available here.
I have the great good fortune to be part of the teaching faculty of Second Helpings Culinary Job Training program. This is a free, 10-week program that trains people for careers in food service. The students are usually folks that have experienced a few bumps in the road of life. This program gives them some new skills and over 90% of the graduates get placed in culinary jobs with an average wage of $9.25 and hour. With 46 graduating classes, there is a good chance you Indy readers eat someplace where a grad is working.