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By Doug Janz
Johnson City Press Tempo Writer
djanz@johnsoncitypress.com
MILLIGAN COLLEGE — Take a tableful of ingredients, two gas burners, four people and 25 minutes, and toss briskly. What do you get?
That’s what Milligan College students and faculty found out last week. A faculty team was pitted against a student team in a version of the popular “Iron Chef” television show.
In this case, the students were the clear winners, producing a three-meat fajita plus a variety of fresh roasted and sauted vegetables and a stuffed green pepper. The faculty, meanwhile, produced a fetching dish, but the taste didn’t live up to the looks.
Afterward, as the faculty members sampled their students’ creations, they all hammed it up.
“I give the exam tomorrow,” said Bill Greer, an economics and business professor.
“Who’s the real winner?” piped in Bob Mahan, accounting professor, with a laugh.
The competition was part of Milligan’s annual International Night at the cafeteria. Dave Taylor, director of food services, said he got the idea from the Food Network’s hit show.
The student team consisted of Katy Head, Eric England, Jessica Conn and Justin Peyton. The faculty chefs were Greer; Mahan; Traci Smith, director of student success; and Melodie Perry, office manager for the business faculty.
Each team was given a spread of ingredients, including noodles, rice, baby shrimp, chicken, beef, carrots, beans, two grated cheeses, mushrooms, vegetables and assorted spices, plus a few other extras. They had a few minutes to look over their items, then huddle up to plot culinary strategy. Their assignment: Cook up an international dish in short order.
Then they manned their stations and, at the signal, exploded into a cooking frenzy.
The judges — Alan Howell of Dixie BBQ; Julia Hanneken of Atlanta Bread Company; and Hoovy McGuirt and Andy Osbolt from Barberitos Southwestern Grille and Cantina — watched closely as the teams chopped, sliced, diced, roasted, sprinkled, sauted, juked, joked and jived while their concoctions began to take shape. Both sides finished within the allotted 25 minutes.
They were judged on presentation and taste. The faculty produced an impressive salad, “naked rice,” steamed cabbage in marinara sauce, sauted veggies, and “Shimp a la Fox,” named after Mark Fox, vice president for student development, and misspelled on purpose.
The students came up with a fajita containing beef, chicken and shrimp; roasted red peppers, a variation of a stuffed green pepper and other veggies. After the judges studied the dishes and took several thoughtful tastes, they had a sure winner.
“The faculty presentation was wonderful,” Howell said. “The rest of it wasn’t much. The students really wore ’em out.”
The students won a variety of prizes for their effort. Their leader, England, called it “a real team effort.
“It’s a lot of work for 25 minutes. It’s stressful. I was almost more relieved when it was plated than when I heard the results.”
“Eric more or less told us what to do,” Conn said with a smile. “He was the head chef. We gave him total control for 25 minutes. That’s really something because we’re all science majors and we’re all control freaks.”
The faculty, meanwhile, said they were undone by the choice of sauted cabbage (not sauted enough, at that) with marinara sauce.
Hanneken said, with a wry smile afterward, “The staff would not pass health inspection. They would lick their fingers and then taste the food again.”
But in this case there were no violations, just the enjoyment of taking the ultimate chef’s challenge — creating a dish on deadline in front of a roomful of people and cameras.
“But we’re out here with the students, that’s fun, and that’s the main thing,” Greer said.
As the cafeteria emptied and workers cleaned up the leftovers, Taylor added with a grin, “Little things like this break up life in the cafeteria. The students asked if we could do it next year. Of course we said ‘yeah.'”
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