Battle I: Eggs Presentation to Judges


 

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
On 6/14 at 6:00 pm, Clark and I will post the three pictures of our final plated dishes for judging.

Judges will be following this scheme, and each judge will submit a 30 pt score for each team:


1) appearance/presentation
2) creativity/use of secret ingredient
3) technique

Each would be worth 3 points, each dish could max at 9, and a team max of 27. An additional 3 points could be awarded as a team score for how well the three dishes work together. The final team total would be 30 points.

1) covers one final, plated photo, as well as 4 photos taken during prep. Judges are looking for good presentation start to finish. This would be similar to how the show discusses dishes as they are made. Teams could post photos, but no comments until a final description of plated dish. Comments during the duration of the contest would be limited to MVP's and non competing board members. After plating, before scoring, the judges can post questions for the competitors.

2) covers creative uses of: secret ingredient, weber grills, fire/smoke, different proteins. More is better.

3) covers how much of the creativity made sense. Did the cooking techniques match the chosen proteins? Does dish appear to be expertly executed? Was the secret ingredient used appropriately?

4) covers the team/meal concept. Was there a theme other than secret ingredient? Was there repetition in any dish, or use of the secret ingredient?
 
Our inspiration for this challenge was to show the versatility of the egg and show how it can be the star and not just the co star of a dish! (I think that’s what the chefs say at the start of each show so it seemed appropriate)!

We are starting out on a tour of Italy with a nice light dish and then moving on to a nice hearty dish for our second showing. For out final attempt we will take you on a plane ride to France and finish you off with a beautifully rich dessert (with a small Canadian tinge).

Dish 1

EGG YOLK RAVIOLI

For this dish we started by roasting red peppers, whole garlic cloves, and onions. We pureed these with a dash of olive oil and strained for a nice smooth sauce (prep pic 1). This formed the bottom layer on our dish.

From here we made a nice smokey home made ricotta cheese. We did this on the kettle (prep pic 2) using the left over whey from left over mozza we had made for an earlier dish. This formed the base for our ravioli. Once the ricotta was done we mixed it with a lot of egg as well as a little onion, garlic and nutmeg.

Now it was time for a home made egg pasta (prep pic 3). We rolled it out and shaped circular ravioli out of them. We placed the ricotta and egg filling leaving a well in the middle, into which we inserted an egg yolk (prep pic 4), we than sealed the ravioli with an egg bath. From here we boiled the ravioli on the kettle and then, instead of the traditional pan sear, we placed them on the open flame for a few seconds to crisp them up and add a little more smokiness. We left the yolks nice and soft so they would gush into the red pepper sauce below and create a nice and creamy sauce.

Now it was time for our finishing sauce, we made a burnt butter sauce adding in pine nuts for a little crunch and then alleppo pepper for a little heat and fruitiness. To finish it off we topped it with a few fresh basil leaves and parmigiano regiano.

On the bread front we made en enriched dough with eggs and parmigiano regiano, pressed them with a tortilla press and grilled them on the kettle. From there we sliced them into a breadstick shape and dipped them in a mixture of eggs and milk then grilled them again!

To recap eggs were used in the bread dough, the bread dip before grilling, the pasta dough, the ricotta filling as well as whole yolks in the ravioli!

Enjoy!

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Dish 2

EGGY PIZZA

For this dish we started out with a pizza dough that we proofed in the kettle. The dough was a high hydration enriched dough with eggs, bacon, garlic, and smoked paprika (prep pic 2). From here the dough was left to age for five days in the fridge before being re – proofed in the kettle again (prep pic 3). We used the kettle not as a gimmick, but because of the extra heat that was generated on a warm Saskatchewan spring day compared to the cool kitchen! The dough was extremely light and tender with air pockets throughout!

We topped the dough with a homemade hollandaise sauce. We started out with grilled lemons, then added the egg yolks and the butter creating the base for our pie (prep pic 1).

Now on to the toppings, we started by making homemade sweet Italian sausage, fresh ground pork, eggs, fennel, oregano, salt, garlic, black pepper, and Aleppo pepper (prep pic 4). To this we added a few roasted red peppers, and finally to further bring out the egg we added a few raw eggs that would cook with the pie!

Once the pie was off we added a little radicchio as well as some parmigiano regiano!

To recap eggs were used in the pizza dough, the hollandaise sauce, the sausage, and whole on the pizza!

Enjoy!

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Dish 3

STRAWBERRY OMELETTE SOUFFLE

Now it’s time for dessert and an after dinner drink!

For this dish we started by beating egg whites to stiff peaks. Then we mixed egg yolks, with a little grand marnier, orange zest and sugar.

In the mean time we mixed about 20 quartered strawberries with a little more grand marnier and sugar and let them rest up!

Now it was time to mix the whites with the yolk mixture (prep pic 3), into a pan and onto the kettle it went! When it was almost done baking we loaded it up with strawberries and baked them into the soufflé. (prep pic 2)

Off the grill it came, with a nice mild smoky back tone (prep pic 1). We placed it on a serving plate soaked in warmed grade B number 3 maple syrup. Then on top of the soufflé we added powdered sugar and cinnamon and topped it all off with fresh mint leaves!

We served this with a cocktail made out of rye, port, lemon juice, simple syrup and an egg white, shaken up so the egg white would make it nice and frothy!

Also a bit of a shout out to the Canadian friends with this dish, enjoy the Maple Syrup and Rye!

No need to point out the eggs in this dish, they are the whole dish!

Enjoy!

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We look forward to all the questions and comments from the judges and anyone else! Thanks for tuning in!

Clark, Rob, and Paul!
Team Canada!
 
Our Team chose to honor the secret ingredient by featuring egg’s versatility and the many ways they can be used to transform dishes. When viewing our preparation pictures, as well our final plates, take note of eggs ability to: enrich, aerate, thicken, emulsify, and bind. Because of egg’s versatility, we also chose to highlight its ability to be perfectly suited on a plate in the morning, midday or at night, as well as on a plate in Southern USA or Southern Malaysia.

It is a challenge to give the humble egg the respect it deserves, especially on the grill, however we enjoyed the challenge provided us by the Noble Judges. We thank them for giving us the opportunity to stretch our culinary abilities, as each one of us have learned something new in the course of this competition.

I now present to you our meal “Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner”

Three Way Grilled Egg Breakfast:
Smoked Scotch Egg with Sage and Ginger Pork Sausage
Eggs Benedict with WSM smoked Brisket, Pie Iron Egg, Grilled English Muffin, and Hollandaise
Fiddlehead Frittata with Applewood Ham
Prairie Oyster shot

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Picnic Lunch:
Egg, Butter & Old Bay Marinated Soft-Shell Crab Sandwich on Brioche Rolls with a side of Deviled Egg Potato Salad.
Homemade brioche rolls baked on a Weber kettle, slathered with homemade mayonnaise and topped with a soft-shell crab that was marinated in an egg, butter, garlic, shallot and Old Bay emulsion and then grilled. With a side of homemade deviled egg potato salad (also made on the kettle) and a homemade Old Bay aioli dipping sauce...bourbon flip for beverage.

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Singaporean Dinner: Char Kway Teow, Spinach with Egg and Snow Crab, and Nonya pancake with Kaya.
I wanted to showcase the egg as the key ingredient in an entire dinner of traditional Singaporean dishes with an emphasis on the egg’s versatility in home-style Asian cuisine.
Char Kway Teow, similar to Paad Thai, but less sweet, with the addition of dark soy sauce and chili sambal: Wok-fried rice noodles with homemade char siu (marinated and grilled strips of pork butt), grilled shrimp, egg “ribbons”, garlic, scallions, chili sambal, bean sprouts, and regular and dark soy. A couple of scramble eggs are usually fried and mixed into this dish, but I wanted to highlight the eggs by lightly scrambling them and cutting them into egg “ribbons”. Three eggs were whisked and gently cooked on a skillet over coals on the OTG, using two firebricks as a level stovetop. The eggs were then sliced into ribbons and, along with the grilled shrimp, folded into the noodle dish before serving.
The Spinach with Egg and Snow Crab was a simple stir-fry. First, ginger and scallions were wok-fried on the OTG with the grilled snow crab meat. A cup of chicken broth was added, along with a little cornstarch solution to thicken slightly. Two eggs were whisked with a fork, along with a few drops of sesame oil. The eggs were slowly poured into the broth, and a fork trailed through them, in the same way you would make egg drop soup. The fresh baby spinach was tossed into the dish just before serving for a light vegetable accompaniment to the Char Kway Teow.
The dessert of Nonya Pancakes completed the dinner. The kaya, Malay egg-coconut jam was made first. I made my own coconut milk, using the meat of two fresh coconuts (1/2 cup of ground coconut was set aside to be toasted). The coconut milk, sugar, eight knotted pandan leaves, six eggs and four egg yolks were whisked for nearly an hour in a double boiler over my chimney starter, then strained to make the kaya. The pandan leaves add a fresh, herbal, vanilla-like flavor. The reserved half-cup of grated coconut meat was dry-fried in the wok until golden and crispy, and then set aside.
To make the Nonya pancakes, ten pandan leaves were chopped and blended with a half cup of water, then strained. The emerald-green liquid was added to flour, one beaten egg, and a little milk to make the batter. The crêpe-like pancakes were made in a skillet on my OTG.
To assemble, a dollop of sweet kaya jam and a sprinkling of toasted coconut was spread onto each pancake, which was then rolled up like a tortilla. Each rolled pancake was topped with a another smear of kaya and a little toasted coconut.

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I'll break the silence...

First of all, I want to thank everyone for allowing me to participate in this amazing inaugural event, overwhelming as it is.

All six chefs/participants went well beyond my greatest expectations with their respective dishes. And, in my mind, all six deserve the title, "TVWBB Iron Chef".

In an email to the other judges, Jim K and Kevin Kruger, I stated, "the final dishes completely BLEW ME AWAY! All this done on WEBER EQUIPMENT!?!"

Congratulations to Clark, Paul and Rob and to Don, Gary and Jeff! Amazing work all of you have done! Amazing!
 
Jim, as a judge, you have the right to ask any one of us to clarify their technique(s). It might help you determine some scores.

I don't have your email, however I sent a message to the other judges, detailing how scoring works.

It was really fun doing this, and like I mentioned above, we all learned how to do some new, cool stuff on our shiny, black (green in Don's case) grills
 
Please note:

I have suggested to the other judges, and we have thus adopted, breaking the points at the quarter-point marks, i.e., 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.25 and so on. Further, I have suggested a scoring approach similar to how many if not most contests are scored - but decidedly not how KCBS judges are taught - and that is that the top score (3) in each category is established as a given at the outset, then points (or quarter-points) are subtracted based on each judge's opinion on what points of the criteria might have been missed.
 
I have to say I was MORE then blown away by both teams prep pictures, techniques, and final product pics. I had no idea that such dishes would come out of your guys! These dishes really scream iron chef all the way...and all done on grills. AMAZING! My two favorite dishes, one from each team is the Egg Yolk Ravioli, and the Three Way Grilled Egg Breakfast (the colors popping off that picture are easily magazine worthy. and the plating is fantastic). Not to say ALL the dishes weren't brilliant, but those were my two favs. I love anything with a runny egg
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. You guys really stepped it up for this competition, and it only proves I have a TON more to learn! Good luck fella's!
 
Oh man, I am sooo glad I'm not judging this epic, spectacular contest! I couldn't pick a definitive winner if my firstborn pup's life depended on it!
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OK, toss in the little guy and I still can't pick! Both teams totally rock!!!
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As noted above, I started at 3 for each category for each dish then subtracted as and if I 'dinged' the number for some reason. For the 'bonus' points at the end I started at 0 then added.

We are each posting numbers and will each add commentary. We are hoping that this will be helpful, and that it will help TVWBBIC evolve, as the commentary directly correlates with how each of us saw ourselves as judges, i.e., how each of us used the how/what/why of the criteria to score.


My scores:


Team 1


Dish 1: 2.5 3 2.75

Dish 2: 2.75 3 2.5

Dish 3: 2.5 2.75 2.75



Commentary:

The ravioli was an excellent choice and looks delicious. The dish suffered a bit from poor choice of the basil leaves - better leaves and better placement needed, perhaps a chiffonade instead of whole leaves. The cheese might have been shaved to make it more visible. The bread might have been offset.

The pizza look quite good. The eggs are the best feature. The radicchio might have been styled a bit better and, perhaps, it might have been lightly grilled to soften/sweeten.

Dessert looks great - though I think the garnish of mint and uncooked strawberries might have been better. Love the cocktail.

Some of the prep pics could have been a little better staged, as could have been the pizza (attention to the background needed - important, especially, as this is the final pic); the dessert pic might have been a bit better with the plate slightly canted and with better lighting, and a closer shot.

Remember, we judge on your commentary and the pics - the pics are the key way to our heads.

I liked the choices of the dishes very much, individually. For it to work better for me, a eye toward flow is essential. This is a lot of dough from one dish to the next. Perhaps a bit rich, but this could be handled with portion size.

A very good effort.

Additional points: 1.


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Team 2



Dish 1: 2.5 3 3

Dish 2: 2.25 2.75 2.75

Dish 2 2.75 3 3



Commentary:

Dish 1 and 2 I dinged because the prep pictures did not go along with the dishes as presented. Attention to detail needed - remember that we judge on the final pic and the prep pics. Actual prep pics for dish 2 might have been better.

The breakfast dish was (maybe) a bit overly aggressive, though I liked the individual choices.
Great styling of the pic.

Nice cocktail on the lunch and nice lunch. The color of the plate washed out the color of the food somewhat.

Excellent pic on the dinner. I might have made the dessert plate smaller but quite the winner of a dessert.

Very good idea on the breakfast, lunch, dinner. Crab, though different types, was used twice - lunch and dinner.

Additional points: 1.5

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This was a lot of fun, even though I didn't get to taste anything!

It is obvious both teams thought out ingredient use, prep and presentation - all the the requirements.

I hope all cooks had a great time and I hope we all - cook, judges and members - enjoyed and learned from this. I did.
 
As Kevin mentioned, we started each dish as a "3", then went down from there. Honestly, this was an incredibly impressive effort from both teams and very dificult to judge. Kudos to all of you. Now with that out of the way, here we go:

Team Canada:

Dish 1: 2.75 3.00 2.75

Dish 2: 2.75 3.00 2.50

Dish 3: 2.50 2.50 2.75

Bonus: 1.75

Commentary:

Loved the ravioli idea and it was very well done. Not only was egg used in multiple ways, it was the "star" of the show. Excellent use of the secret ingredient. Points removed in prep/presentation simply because it wasn't perfect. Looked great, but I think it could have been tweaked a bit with the use of the basil and better visiblity into the base sauce.

Pizza: looked wonderful. Again, egg was the star as well as an ingredient here - I really liked that. What I deducted on here was the egg as a topping. This was a plus and a minus for me. It looked great and made the egg a focal point - very creative. But I struggled with seeing it as a "appropriate" use on pizza.

Dessert: Very good overall. I wasn't certain, but it looked as if one of the prep pics was a different attempt that didn't turn out as well. Could have easily been lighting, etc. But it just didn't look like the final pic to me. Egg was well used here, but not as much a "star" ingredient as it might have been IMHO. Nice cocktail - wasn't expecting beverages to show up.

Overall great job. The dishes flowed well (app, main and dessert) and a slight Italian theme was in place until dessert. Seemed to be well thought out and executed.

Team USA:

Dish 1: 3.00 2.75 3.00

Dish 2: 2.50 2.50 2.75

Dish 3: 3.00 2.75 2.75

Bonus: 1.50

Meal 1: Great presentation and prep photos. Good use of secret ingredient.

Meal 2: Overall well done. Eggs could have been more of a focal point here - seemed a "behind the scenes" participant to some degree. Great looking sandwich, but overall presentation could have been upped a bit with some color. Loved the cocktail - again, I wasn't even expecting beverages. and this one was a very good one.

Meal 3: Very nice prep and presentation. Eggs could have been more of a star here. Otherwise, very well done and nice creativity. The dessert sounded incredible.

While I liked the breakfast, lunch, dinner idea, I was expecting more of a single meal (could be my fault). But the concept was good. Crab in two of the three was good - three out of three would have been better.

Again, awesome job by everyone. We really were very impressed. These dishes looked outstanding and I'm proud (and humbled) to have been a part of it. Thanks for allowing me to judge.

I just wish I could have tasted all of that great food.
 
WoW! Very difficult to score/judge these dishes, as they all look outstanding. And I'm certain the taste buds were dancing, singing wonderful melodies when consumed!

Team 1 (Clark, Paul & Rob)

Dish 1,
2.75
2.75
2.75

Dish 2,
2.5
2.75
2.5

Dish 3,
2.5
2.75
2.5

Add 2.5

The prep photos showing the ravioli in the works got me very much intrigued, and the finished plate did not disappoint. No doubt this tasted wonderful! Fantastic display!
The ingredients of the pizza just pulled me in with the hollandaise over the crust dough and grilled lemons AND whole EGGS! I'll bet that homemade Italian sausage was Spectacular! Very Nice!!
Now on to dessert, something I eet very little of <span class="ev_code_GREY">(believe it or not)</span>. However, this I would devour while the hummingbird sits. To create such a plate using a Weber grill is mind boggling! Simply Amazing!!
Thank you Team Canada!

Team 2 (Don, Gary & Jeff)

Dish 1,
2.75
2.5
2.5

Dish 2,
2.75
2.75
2.5

Dish 3,
2.75
3
2.75

Add 2.5

Breakfast is also something I have on occasion, basically only while vacationing... butt this final photo with the use of a CIS is very cool, everything looks wake-up Wonderful! Love the Scotch egg idea, and the brisket. Prairie Oyster shot sounds very interesting!
The plate for lunch is exactly what I'd order! Love the homemade mayo AND the kettle potato salad... butt the keeper here is the crab on that awesome homemade roll! As Popeye would say, "Well Blow Me Down!"
And now dinner. I haven't made egg drop soup before, butt after reading the discription of this plate before looking at the photo... EGADS! I wouldn't know whether to eet the food or simply stare at it for a week! Awesome!! Suitable for framing!
Thank you Team America!

Both teams, all you guys, are Excellent Chefs and all deserve titles of TVWBB Iron Chef, without doubt!
Your ideas, techniques and styles are genuinely unique and very much impressive!
It was an honour to be a part of this contest, Thank you all!
 
Judges, thanks for the thorough review! I'm sure I speak for everybody who participated when I say I appreciate you guys taking the time to provide us feed back and for being fair.

here's the scoring summary (Clark you may want to independently verify these numbers, it was a lot of adding):

Clark Paul Rob

dish 1: 25

dish 2: 24.25

dish 3: 23.25

bonus: 5.25

total: 77.75


Jeff Don Gary

dish 1: 25

dish 2: 23.25

dish 3: 26

bonus: 5.5

total: 79.75


by judge:

Kevin: 25.25 to 26.5
JimK: 26.25 to 26.5
Jim Lampe: 26.25 to 26.75

(Canada to USA)

Congratulations are in order for everyone who took part!
 
I'd like to say thanks to everyone for making this happen. Congrats to Clark Paul and Rob for stepping up and making such truly excellent food. Thanks to my teammates, Jeff and Don (I still can't get over the fact that Don made brioche on the grill!)
Thanks to Chris for giving us the A-OK to proceed, and the judges Kevin, Jim K and Jim L for taking the time and treating this seriously.
I encourage everyone else out there to find their teammates and start the next round to keep the fun of friendly competition going.

Should anyone be interested, here is a slideshow of my whole process . Please enjoy. - Gary
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Should anyone be interested, here is a slideshow of my whole process . Please enjoy. - Gary </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I only have one outtake to offer, me drinking the prairie oyster:
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not bad, if I might say
 
Just wanted to thank everyone that participated. I have very much enjoyed jumping on here each day and can't wait for the next match up.

Also, both teams really set the bar high. Judges feedback was excellent for future teams to understand the process and for the first to teams two improve.

Just excellent all around guys. Thank you again.

One thing, someone needs to design a trophy!
 
Great job by everybody and congratulations.

Just want to say you guys have made it very intimidating to try and come up with something to top this but I'm game. My vote for the next secret ingredient is salt
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. Or maybe pepper or better yet lets make it challenging and you have to use both.
 
Congratulations to Don, Gary, and Jeff on winning the first Iron Chef! You folks turned out some great food and kicked butt!

Good luck to the next teams, lets keep it going!

Clark
 
Congratulations Jeff, Don, and Gary on winning this first IC competition.

To all six competitors I would like to say ALL of you are Iron Chefs.
 

 

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