It was a great competition. Last year was great - I didn't see how the teams could do better this year - but they did. They didn't just  do better, they took the whole competition up two notches. All three teams made about the same number of dishes from the surprise ingredient. For those who couldn't make it - the surprise  ingredient was dressed whole goose. Still somewhat frozen - even  though it had been defrosting for several days and was soaked in cool-cold water for several hours that morning. The day dawned cloudy and had a slight chill - maybe low 60's.  Perfect weather really for slaving over hot grills. And the sun came out and it slowly warmed up - with a slight breeze the entire time during the day.

The site arrangement this year was better than last year's in that the IronChef competition area was set up near to the list ropes and the equestrian events. I know that I felt the competition was much more a part of the entire event this year. And we had many more visitors who not only viewed how the competition was going, but if they were there at the right time - they got a taste of the dishes in process. And the judges were right there in the thick of it - viewing and learning from the contestants about what they were doing.

The contestants had all been part of the competition from the previous year and so they knew what to expect. It went much more smoothly. We had several small meetings and the groups agreed to extend the time by an extra hour and a half because of the still rather frozen nature of the goose. 

Her Majesty, Ariel was very gracious and kind came over several times to view the contestants hard at work, and then just before the judging - to view the presentations. She then graciously allowed us to present the award medallions in Court that evening.

We had many people following behind the judges to taste the dishes also. I know that by the time I got back to the first team judged (after recording the votes of the judges and doing the secret tally) some of the dishes were gone - as in no leftovers. The dishes presented - are listed on the pages with the photos. I apologize if I missed recording/listing a dish - I tried to write everything down - it was hard because I kept  getting caught up in the team's explanation of the dishes and tasting them.)

Each team made some really good stuff. For me personally there was at least one dish each team made that was to die for - as in give me the recipe now or you're not leaving. Hopefully, each team will be sending what they can of their recipes - or at least a list of ingredients used in each dish so some of us can try to recreate them in our kitchens under less hectic conditions.

These teams did a great job of redacting recipes (on the fly) from medieval German cookbooks under competition conditions.  

The winning team received medallions made by Grimwulf. These medallions are shaped (bowled) just like a miniture wok and the words IronChef II are raised.

It was just awesome to watch these teams in action. All the members of the teams worked well together - there was plenty of laughter to be heard during the competition. The teams worked well with each other - as I saw some borrowing going on among the teams. 

I feel that this competition demonstrated Calontir spirit - Camaraderie and teamwork (while playiing with fire), under adverse conditions (still- partially frozen goose). In a word, the best of Calontir.

I had a great time. Team Grimfells (the IronChef team from last year) did not win this year. The Nebraska team won this time out.

Kateryn de Develyn
Guildhead - Calontir Cookery Guild

PS:

We will be having a Northern edition this fall at Deodar's event at the end of September. This will be open fire pit cooking. Start putting together your team now, signup will be after Lilies.