Steve Zugschwerdt | Kitsap Sun Chefs Donald Mitchell and Mary Wright of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station's team wait for judge Jay Sardeson's response to one of their dishes in the Iron Chef competition.

September 15, 2005

Bremerton

The heat was on with 15 minutes left in the competition as Navy cooks scrambled to finish their dishes.

"If you're not feeling pressure, you're not in this game," Chief Culinary Specialist Michael DeAscentiis shouted over the sounds of the bustling kitchen.

In their own version of the Food Network's popular "Iron Chef" TV show, six Navy teams from throughout Puget Sound were given a limited time Wednesday to create winning dishes using ingredients revealed at the start of the competition.

The rules of Wednesday's challenge differed slightly from those of the TV version: Teams had three hours to finish, rather than one, and there were four secret ingredients — beef tenderloin, gulf prawns, Alaskan king salmon, and a bag of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips (the latter thanks to Nestle's sponsorship of the event).

But the Bremerton naval station's galley otherwise rivaled Kitchen Stadium for the level of intensity within its walls.

Three-member teams from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor, USS Abraham Lincoln, USS John C. Stennis, USS Columbus, and USS Nebraska were required to produce one appetizer or salad, two main dishes and a dessert.

The first-place team from the Gold crew of the Nebraska, a Bangor-based Trident submarine, won over the judges with its tequila shrimp, salmon chowder, beef and mushroom bread pockets and apple puff pastries.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Stephan Edwards said the team's strategy was "basically just do the best we can with what we got."

The sub cooks face an Iron Chef-worthy challenge each night when they use leftover ingredients from breakfast, lunch and dinner to throw together a midnight meal for sailors coming off the night watch, Edwards said.

That experience paid off. Edwards and his teammates, Joshua Hiatt and Colin Walker, who wore matching red bandanas, won a three-day vacation in Napa Valley.

The second-place team from the Lincoln, an Everett-based aircraft carrier, won tickets to a Seahawks game and dinner in Seattle. Third place and sets of knives went to the team from Bremerton's homeported carrier, the Stennis.

The competition presented a challenge for the carrier cooks, who are used to making mass meals for enlisted sailors, said Seaman Jamsel Reyes, a Stennis team member. The kind of food prepared Wednesday was more like what the officers and chief petty officers eat, he added.

Reyes said he enjoyed learning by observing the other cooks in the contest, particularly their emphasis on garnishes and presentation.

"The best part of this is seeing all these other chefs and seeing what they can do," he said.

Judges included Rear Adm. Bill French, head of Navy Region Northwest, several captains from local commands, retired Seahawks placekicker Norm Johnson of Seabeck and Sheraton Hotel chef Jay Sardeson.

French said he was so impressed by the food, he gave every team top marks. Capt. Bill Roberts, commander of Naval Hospital Bremerton, was more modest, but he still handed out scores of 15 to 17 out of 20 to all teams.

"They had no way to prepare, and they still managed to come up with these culinary delights," Roberts said.

WINNING RECIPE

Salmon Chowder

Ingredients:

2 lb salmon

2 cups cooking sherry

1 lb potatoes

1 red onion (diced)

? lb butter

2 bay leaves

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups milk

ground black pepper and parsley to taste

Instructions:

1. Boil salmon in sherry until it crumbles, then set aside.

2. Saute onion and potatoes in butter until done. Add to salmon mixture.

3. Add bay leaves. Cook in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

4. Add cream and milk. Heat in oven until hot. Do not boil, otherwise milk will curdle.

5. Add pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley and serve.

By Elaine Helm

ehelm@kitsapsun.com

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