IronChef Competition
Grimfells MarchWarden Event

Photos located here: Click for photos.

Loosely based on a Japanese cooking show, we had 4 teams consisting of no more than 6 people who competed against each other to see who could make the best 14th century English meal using a secret ingredient provided by the Calontir Cook's Guild and outdoor grills provided by Pavel. The four teams were the Mag-Mor Team, the Grimfells Team, the Loch Meadhonach/Deodar Team, and the Cooking Gnomes with members from Mag Mor, Lonely Tower and Forgotten Sea.

There where 5 judges: Etienette lĘBluet, Stephen of Mag Mor, Tatiana Dieugarde, Tsire Tsuevo and Malaak al-Maheem who judged each meal on four criteria: 1. Appearance/Presentation, 2. Flavor, 3. Aroma, and 4. Judges Discretion. Malaak served as our chairman to unveil the secret ingredient, saffron.

The team from the Mag-Mor consisted of 5 individuals wearing cow print aprons: Master Mikhail, Mistress Tatjana, Mistress Gwyneth, Mistress Juliana, and Lady Leofwyna. The team had begun arranging their kitchen space early that morning by unloading a variety of brightly painted wooden boxes containing their cooking supplies and an impressive bread oven that had been placed on a wheeled cart just in time for the event. They wowed the judges with their use of period cooking techniques including the time and effort they put into the bread oven alone. The use of actual game birds (pheasant and grouse) instead of the more readily available chicken was appreciated. The Mag Mor team also incorporated the period cooking concepts of themed meals (in this case based on the colors argent and orr) and the recycling of food (example: the broth from the roast was used first to boil the meat balls and then the barley) into a tasty meal that delighted the judges.

The following is a menu of the dishes the Mag Mor team served:

• Gilded meatballs of ground pork and grouse dipped in white or gold batter
• Blank desire - substituting pheasant for capon
• Tarte and apples
• Fresh baked white bread
• Homemade butter and a spread of quince for the bread
• Fruit pie for dessert

The team from Loch Meadhonach/Deodar consisted of Lady Simone, Sean of Loch Meadhonach, Padric MacDowell, and Anne of Walnut Grove. They were appropriately dressed in falcon tabards with each bird of prey wielding a cooking pot in its talons. To prepare for the event they read A Form of Cury and researched the web. Their emphasis was on a grounds-up approach using farm-fresh chicken and duck eggs, fresh cows milk from which the creame was separated to make butter on site. From the butcher they obtained beef fat and rendered it into beef tallow in a Dutch oven. This team also focused on spicing for the modern palette to produce an array of flavor-infused dishes. They took a big chance on doing a fish soup (people tend to either like fish or hate it), but they cooked it in almond milk to reduce the fishiness.

The following is the Loch Meadhonach/Deodar menu:

• Salmon soup - spiced with rosemary, thyme and ginger.
• Leches in Lenten - fruit salad soaked in Merlot wine & almond milk w/cloves. Colored with sandalwood.
• Noodles & beef - thick noodles served with tender slices of the most mouth-watering beef
• Custard

The Cooking Gnomes, Mistress Katrei, Duncan, Eoan, Bran and Mighel, were easily distinguished by their tall red conical hats. They were excited by the choice of saffron as the secret ingredient because it was not only a spice but also a food coloring agent. To prepare for the competition they researched a number of sources including Pleyn Delight by C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler, the Medieval Cookbook and Taste of History both by Maggie Black, Food and Eating in Medieval Europe edited by M. Carlin & J. T. Rosenthal, plus a number of other books, web articles, SCA class handouts, etc. all too numerous to mention. The amount of reference material they brought with them was impressive and required that I take 30 minutes just to peruse them all. While they were expecting the secret ingredient to be something obvious like rice or bread, they were well prepared for anything ingredient thrown at them.

The following is the menu from the Cooking Gnomes:

• Salad of Tender Greens in Vinaigrette
• Mushroom & Onion Soup with Chicken Stock - a light, summery soup
• Hedgehogs - tasty pork meat balls with almond sliver quills
• Great Pie - 10 lbs. of pie! bright yellow crust w/ Calon cross cut in it to reveal the fruit and meat filling
• Gingerbread w/candied violets - very spicy pepper bars topped with delightful violet candies.

The Grimfells Team included Master Pavel, Countess Fionna, Lord Rodrekr and Marion of the Burnt Fingers as well as two honorary Grimfellons, Mistress Meredydd and Syr Cian. To prepare for the competition, they researched and tested a few recipes as well as made bread, roasted chicken and made saffron rice. Of the teams, they were the most disappointed when the secret ingredient was revealed. "We brought saffron with us. I was really hoping for a live goose or pig," said one Grimfellon.

The team spent a great deal of time planning their menu after the competition started. In fact it was noted that an hour into the competition, the Grimfellons were just starting to cook. Their battle plan was to prepare one main dish with 4 supporting dishes and if possible a dessert. While each team was only required to produce 3 dishes, the Grimfells Team cooked 6 just in case one or more failed. In addition, a baked sweet onion and a baked cabbage dish ("take 2 sticks of butter...") were added on the side but not included in the judging because of lack of documentation. The team focused on period foods pleasing to the modern palette, spicing aggressively. Of equal important to taste was the eye catching presentation of each dish. Not only was the food good, it was gorgeous as well. Despite their late start, the Grimfells team managed to come from behind to impress the judges with the taste and presentation of their dishes.

The following is the Grimfells menu (I'm spelling a number of these wrong, if someone could post corrections:

• Fennel in Sop -bakchoy (fennel substitute) & onion salad in olive oil dressing.
• Chicken in Coney - bread and chicken base on a bed of saffron rice.
• Fungus in pork sauce
• Justle (sp?) - pork broth stuffing
• Whole wheat bread and saffron butter
• Dulce - a honey custard

In all aspects, I think this competition was a success. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the competition was the lack of catastrophic failures. I expected at some point to see billows of black smoke and hear cries of despair. Despite the use of grills outdoors instead of conventional ovens inside, all teams were able to successfully complete the dishes they attempted. Better yet, all the dishes were edible. I was surprised by the strength and the skill of the teams who entered. Each team was stacked with experience and talent that made judging them a difficult, though very fulfilling task.

Thank you to all who entered and all who stopped by to help taste.

Report written by Mistress Tatiana Dieugarde

Postscript (written by Kateryn de Develyn)

Prizes:

The members of each team received a prize - a strand of garnets. The Judges received a strand of pearls. All four team leaders received a prize (sticks of true cinnamon, grains of paradise, and cubebs) for putting together a team to enter the competition. The members of winning team each received a pewter sand-casted wok medallion with the words Iron Chef curved around the rim with the roman numeral I in the center. The medallions were made by Grimwulf out of Mag Mor.

Winners:

At the evening court of TRM Valens and Comyn it was announced that the winners of the Iron Chef were the Grimfells team. Pavel had gone to nap before dinner (convinced that their team had not won) so his daughter ran to fetch him. The team members were greatly surprised. And I - as head of the Calontir Cook's Guild had the great pleasure of presenting him with his medallion.

I have to say the pie crust the Mag Mor team made was absolutely delicious. The salmon soup by the Loch Meadhonach team was superb. And the Gnomes team great pie was truly impressive (and good-tasting too!) I think the Dulce that the Grimfells team made was outstanding.

Most of the teams redacted recipes (on the fly) from the Forme of Curye. So, if you see a recipe that interests you, try looking in Curye. I am not aware of the teams writing down the quantities of the ingredients used for each recipe as they cooked that day, but I could be wrong.

It was great fun. I can hardly wait for the next one.

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