Students, Teachers Take On Iron Chef Challenge at Maine South

A team of students and a team of teachers peeled, chopped, stirred and sauteed madly Wednesday as they competed in Maine South High School's Iron Chef competition.  

Set up in Maine South's cafeteria, the culinary smackdown was a fundraiser for the American Red Cross. Both teams received some staple food supplies, such as pasta and chicken, and a secret ingredient, which turned out to be avocadoes. 

Their challenge? To make an entree, a vegetarian side and a dessert, incorporating the avocadoes in the first two, in 20 minutes. If that made them sweat, they could easily have blamed it on the steam rising from the teachers' tomato mixture, which was bubbling at a fast simmer.

The teams, which consisted of four or five people each, stayed focused on their prep and cooking as the Hawks cheerleaders cheered, three judges and an audience watched and students, faculty and the press snapped photos and took video, which was broadcast around the room from a live feed.

Both teams were outfitted with equipment by Quest Food Management, which provided burners, saute pans, chopping boards, knives, forks, spoons, ice cream scoopers and serving dishes. GFS Food Service provided the food.

Students hoped to beat last year's fundraiser of almost $3,000, through sales of raffle tickets, t-shirts and refreshments. They'll also earn profits when the winning dishes are prepared and sold in the student cafeteria this week.

So who won? The students, of course!

Here are the dishes they created:

• Moonwalker Pasta. Pasta with mushrooms, spinach, grilled chicken breast, feta cheese, avocado, garlic, basil, pesto sauce, lemon juice, almonds, olive oil. Chefs: Ryan Buechel and John Ryan O'Rourke
• Vegetarian side: Avocado, corn, garlic, red onion, tomato, lemon and lime juice, salt and pepper, cilantro, sour cream. Chef: Aurora Walker.
• Dani Special. Naan bread, olive oil, shredded cheddar cheese, sauteed red peppers, mushrooms, onions, sliced black olives, black beans, corn, salt, pepper, fajita seasoning. Chef: Danielle DiCristofano.

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