November 23, 2022
Cooking the competition Francis Howell High School students show off their culinary skills at the 13th Annual Iron Chef Competition By Brett Auten Fresh caught spiedini. Pan seared top sirloin. Tomato panzanella salad. Fall festival cupcakes. These are not the menu items at a new bougie restaurant in Wentzville, or found at your favorite haunt on Main Street in St. Charles. These creations were all part of the offerings created by the four Francis Howell School District high schools as they squared off at the 13th Annual Iron Chef Competition, a culinary arts contest held Nov. 15 at Francis Howell High School. As oven doors opened and closed, pots and pans clanged, and orders, pleas, instructions and compliments echoed, the students showed off an array of skills ranging from organization, presentation, time management and cooking techniques. Each of the district’s high schools assembled a collection of seven students that are currently enrolled in a culinary arts class. The teams consisted of five chefs, a table setter and dishwasher. “It was a lot of fun and it got me the experience I wanted,” Francis Howell senior Will Halterman said. “It’s convinced me that I like working in fast food, at least for now. I still have a lot more to learn. The steaks ended up cooking through a lot faster than our conventional oven. The (facilities) were wonderful and it’s a big thanks to Sodexo for letting us use them.” The guidelines were, each team had twoand-a-half hours to prepare, from scratch, three dishes that would feed 100 guests including an entrée, side and dessert. And at least one dish had to use the specially selected secret ingredient – chutney. A panel of four celebrity judges rated each
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Photo by Brett Auten Four Francis Howell School District high schools faced off in the 13th Annual Iron Chef Competition, sponsored by Sodexo. The culinary arts competition was held on Nov. 15 at Francis Howell High School. Each high school assembled a team of seven students that are currently enrolled in a culinary arts class. The teams consisted of five chefs, a table setter and dishwasher.
team on presentation, flavor, creativity and team effort. “It was nerve racking,” Halterman said. “We were looking for facial reactions. When one judge whispered over to another after trying our dessert, ‘this was it.’ That was like a big payoff for us.” Francis Howell North senior Austin Bitter got into cooking through his family. “You have to eat to survive, so you might as well make it taste good,” Bitter said. “I’m from a big line of cooks. My mom has been a cook, my grandma’s been a cook. They taught me everything I know and there’s
Ms. (Becky) Just who taught me everything else.” Bitter said he and his teammates had about five or six practices where they made everything or a select few dishes. They scrapped some dishes, added some dishes and worked around the menu. “I feel very confident, to be honest,” Bitter said, prior to the judges even sampling North’s wares. “We tinkered around with our menu. Saw what worked and what didn’t and took what worked and made it better.” See ‘COMPETITION’ page 2
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