Last Thursday in the Nance Room of Dorrill Dining Hall, the Modern Language Club held its third ever Iron Chef Competition, an annual food competition between representatives of the Spanish, French and German Departments of Longwood University with dishes from the respective language-speaking countries. A formal event, the competition was friendly, professional and a great escape from the cheap fast food and raggedy sweat pants life many college students live daily.
Heather Edwards, lecturer in French and one of the advisors of the Modern Language Club (the others included Lecturer in Spanish Nelson Sanchez and Lecturer in Spanish Jon Sirko), said, "It's become a nice tradition for us. Celebrating the accomplishments that our students have made, celebrating their expanding expertise about the cultures that they study [and] their ease with the target language that they're speaking."
Tickets for the Iron Chef Competition ranged from $15 for faculty and staff and $10 for students with identification and raised close to $500 by the end of the night. All proceeds from the event contributed to Doctors Without Borders, an international humanitarian organization that provides assistance to "people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters" in over 60 countries, as stated in the Doctors Without Borders website. The Iron Chef Competition also held a silent auction for items such as a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble and a $220 certificate to Courtney Vogel Photography.
The three judges determining who the winner was at the end of the night included President Patrick Finnegan, Dean of Cook-Cole College Charles Ross and Assistant Professor of Sociology Jason Milne.
The first dish presented for the night was for the Spanish team, which was pollo asado y arroz verde, or roasted chicken and Mexican green rice. The student representatives who presented the meal were Ashley Powell and Andres Bachelet. Other students who contributed to the dish included, Barbara Tait, Amber Miller, Irina Boothe and Megan Lopez. As Powell gave an introduction to the meal in Spanish, Bachelet translated, both saying, "Our roasted chicken is from the Caribbean. It's made with a little bit of garlic taste, and it's marinated in garlic, lime juice and orange juice. The green rice is from Mexico. The rice, itself, is not green. What makes it green is the lime pepper and cilantro. The rice has pico de gallo, which is a mixture of tomatoes and onions, and the rice, itself, might have a bit of a chicken taste because it's made with chicken broth."
"They did a great job," was a comment made by Ross, who said, "It's a very nice blend of lime and garlic, and the pico de gallo is nice. The presentation is not only colorful. It has a really nice shape."
Milne used the word, "phenomenal," while describing the dish. "The combination between the lime, and the garlic and chicken is just wonderful … Never been a big fan of this combination, but all this together is just phenomenal. So, well done to them."
Finnegan said, "It's wonderfully presented, and the rice – I gotta tell you – it doesn't look green to me. The blend of taste is what's very good. The chicken has a – can't even really define what the taste is, but it goes so well with the pico de gallo and the rice. So, they did a terrific job introducing the dishes and even better job – you're gonna enjoy eating this."
Afterwards, the German team presented their dish, which was zuricher geschnetzeltes mit rosti, or sliced pork with mushrooms and hashbrowns. The student representatives who presented the meal were Paige Jennings and Ellery Ruther. As Jennings gave an introduction to the meal in German, Ruther translated, both saying, "This food is a special dish in Switzerland. It is well-known and popular throughout Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The dish contains sliced pork, mushrooms and roasted shallot, butter, gravy, white wine, cream, salt and pepper. Then it is garnished with parsley and parmesan cheese. Hashbrowns are typically served with the dish. It is just grated potato, fried with eggs salt and pepper, but they're delicious together. "
Milne commented that, "Any time you put gravy on a dish, it's always good. You combine it with mushrooms, and hashbrowns and pork. It's just phenomenal. I love the combination here of the mushrooms … You won me over in that respect."
Finnegan agreed with Jake saying, "If you put mushrooms and gravy and pork slices in a dish, it's wonderful." He also said, "I've lived in Germany for a total of eight years … I think they [the German students] might have some inside information because this is the meal that I ordered more than any. And I'll tell ya. This is delicious. It reminds me of what I had many times"
Ross was also happy with the meal, saying, "Very nice." He said, "Generally, when they talk about German food, they'll say the thing about German food is five days later, you're hungry again. This is actually nice and light. Very nice mixture of tastes." He joked that, "The thing that really got me, though –I'm a math and science guy, and the presentation – the meat was arranged in a spiral. For you math people or DaVinci code fans – I thinking there's some kind of mystery here."
The last dish presented was from the French team, which was boef en croute el aligot, or herb-encrusted tenderloin and creamy potatoes.
The winner at the end of the night was for the Spanish Department. Irina Boothe, President of the Modern Language Club, said about the event that, "I think it brings diversity. They learn about other cultures, and other countries, and their languages and food that is native to those countries … It gives them a chance to be able to see different foods and see other students."
Lecturer in Spanish and one of the advisors of Modern Language Club, Jon Sirko said the reason why the Spanish, German and French Departments were chosen for the Iron Chef tournament is because "these are the three principle languages taught in the [languages] department."
He recommended other students to attend the event next year, saying, "It's a night they don't have to have a hamburger and fries and pizza at D-Hall. This food is – students take a long time, thinking about and preparing the recipes and they're as close to authentic dishes as we're gonna get here, especially in Farmville, for students to try."
If interested in contributing to Doctors Without Borders, find more information on the official website at http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org. If interested in spreading your international wings, be sure to check out Longwood's Office of International Affairs at http://www.longwood.edu/internationalaffairs/. You can also check out International Coffee hour, an event providing "an opportunity for informal conversation and the building of friendship between international students and the Longwood community," on Nov. 17 at 3:30 p.m. in the East Ruffner "Leather Lounge" or at Ruffner Hall 148.
