Posted by The Stanford Daily, CA on May 06, 2008 at 07:48:42:
Annual Cook-Off sizzles
Five teams compete for culinary fame
May 6, 2008
By Shelby Martin
At Wilbur dining last Friday, Team Infusion competed in the fifth annual Cardinal Cook-Off. Inspired by the cuisines of China, Japan and Thailand, Wendi Goh ‘09 and Sarah Dyen ‘09 prepared halibut in three different ways.
It’s just after 5 p.m. on Friday, and five teams are hard at work in Stanford’s fifth annual Cardinal Cook-Off, Stanford Dining’s culinary challenge for gastronomically inclined students.
“The competition is heating up here,” says an announcer wearing a suit and polka-dot tie. He outlines this year’s Cook-Off rules. All teams start with 40 points and lose them for any flaws in their cuisine. Organization counts for 10 points; cooking skills and technique also count for 10; and taste counts for 20 points. The required ingredient this year is local halibut, he explains.
Judges walk around with clipboards, and each group has a kitchen timer, which is currently counting down from 28 minutes.
The Daily has permission to shadow one duo. Wendi Goh ‘09 and Sarah Dyen ‘09 are wearing chef coats with “Team Infusion” emblazoned in red. They are preparing halibut three ways, inspired by three different cuisines — from China: cilantro, sesame and ginger halibut; from Japan: halibut in a caramelized miso sauce; and from Thailand: halibut poached in red curry.
The curry bubbles enticingly as Sarah lifts out an egg noodle and drops it in her mouth.
“They need a little more time,” she says, chewing carefully.
Wendi changes her latex gloves and coats a small pink plate with sugar. “We’re ready to caramelize the halibut,” she explains.
Wendi rolls bite-sized fish pieces in the sugar until they’re evenly coated. She drops them in a pan of oil, where they sizzle satisfyingly. They’re light brown and smell fishy and sweet.
To Wendi and Sarah’s right, the first team has finished minutes before the deadline.
“Congratulations to team one!” says the announcer with the polka-dot tie. He carries the microphone over to interview Tito Balsamo ‘11 and Lara Ortiz-Luis ‘11, who display their finished plate. Gathered spectators clap and cheer.
Lara and Tito made herb-crusted halibut with pan-seared prawns and apple-fennel salad.
“How’d it go?” asks the announcer.
“I think it went well,” says Lara. “We kept calm.”
Tito adds that they made a last-minute change to the way their food was arranged on the plate. “We changed a symmetrical presentation to a fish shape,” he said.
The dining hall has gotten more crowded as Wilbur residents show up for dinner. “This is so cool,” says one spectator.
Another student squints at the plate. “Is that a balsamic reduction?” he asks skeptically. “You’ll never taste the shrimp under that.”
One plate is offered for spectator sampling, two are saved for the judges’ palates and the last is scored on presentation.
Team Infusion’s timer reads 6:36. Sarah examines it anxiously and moves the device closer to Wendi. Then she leaves the table for a few minutes. When she returns, she whispers to Wendi in urgent tones.
“What do you mean it doesn’t work?” Wendi says. “What happened?
Stanford Dining Food Service Supervisor Jeff Rosen is close by. “Jeff!” says Sarah. “Our steamer isn’t working!”
The group tried to heat their cilantro-ginger halibut in the provided steamer, but the appliance was broken. Jeff’s solution is to set the foil-wrapped halibut in a pot with some boiling water. There are no pot lids, so Sarah sets a fry pan on top of the pot to trap the steam. She looks worried.
Wendi presses on. She’s laid cubes of sticky rice on four plates and carefully spreads pesto mayonnaise on top.
“It’s a spin on traditional Japanese cuisine,” she says.
Jeff is back to check on Team Infusion. “The judges should have their plates in 3:40,” says Jeff. “Do you feel good about that?”
“Yep,” says Wendi, a little unconvincingly. She is rolling thinly shaved slices of cucumber in soy sauce and shaping them artistically.
When the plates are done, each has a neat line of all three halibut dishes. The steamed cilantro-ginger halibut rests on a bed of cucumber. Red curry and halibut tops a tiny bowl of egg noodles. A rice cube is stacked with pesto mayonnaise, an avocado slice and the caramelized halibut.
Sarah examines the plates. “Let’s send these two to the judges,” she suggests, pointing.
Wendi uses a napkin to wipe any stray soy sauce off the plates, and Team Infusion is ready to be judged.
The announcer swoops in. His forehead is damp by this point in the contest.
“Let’s hear it for the team!” he says. When the applause has died down, he extends the microphone for comment.
Sarah ducks, so Wendi speaks up.
“We had a couple of hiccups,” she says. “There were some technical difficulties with the steamer.”
“Improvisation is the heart of good cooking,” declares the announcer.
At 6:00, the last teams are frantically assembling their plates. There’s a break while the judges sample the food and discuss their choices.
The winners are supposed to be announced at 6:30, but the judges are still shuffling papers at 6:35.
Wendi chats with supporters while she waits for the results.
“I feel pretty good, all things considered,” she says, when asked about her chances for first place. She explains that in addition to the problem with the steamer, the team’s induction burner broke at the beginning of the contest. They eventually got a new one, but they wasted a lot of time waiting.
Wendi says she has three chef coats by now. She and Sarah have participated in the Cook-Off since their freshman year and were allowed to keep them after each contest.
“Freshman year, we had our first names embroidered. Sophomore year, our last names. And this year, ‘Team Infusion,”” Wendi says. “We won third place freshman year, and fifth place last year, so hopefully this is our year.”
Finally, the judges call on all competitors to line up for a group picture. Most still have their coats and hats on, and they smile nervously.
“There can only be one first place, but you’re all winners,” says Jeff. “Every year you guys raise the bar.”
“Thank you, Chef Jeff,” says the announcer in the polka-dot tie. Fifth place goes to Tito and Lara, while Phil Stenberg GSB ‘08 and Carrie Bourguignon GSB ‘08 took fourth place.
The nail-biting ends for Wendi and Sarah when the announcer hands them a third-place certificate.
Jenna Yang ‘11 and Sarah Grandin ‘11 receive second place, which leaves John McGee ‘08 and Greg Williams ‘08 holding up an enormous $1000 check. There’s a pause for pictures.
“Our reigning champions!” says the announcer.
For Team Infusion, there’s always next year