Professional Chefs to Pick Top Dishes at Together We Cope Food Pantry Challenge January 26

Professional chefs from top Chicago and suburban restaurants will choose the best dish made from wax beans, peanut butter or canned salmon when they serve as judges at the Food Pantry Challenge on January 26 at 8 p.m. at Robert Morris University, 82 Orland Park Drive, in Orland Park.

The cook-off is hosted by Together We Cope (TWC), a prevention agency that serves 5,000 people every month at its food pantry in Tinley Park, to generate recipes for its clients that make the most of nutritious ingredients they might not have chosen but need to use.

Judges include Craig Couper, executive chef at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse in Chicago; Francisco Virgen, sous chef at Tin Fish Restaurant in Tinley Park; Peter Raia, sous chef at the Harvest Room Restaurant in Palos Heights; and Nick Kapellas, managing partner at Bonefish Grill in Orland Park. Clients will be on hand to judge the food as well.

“Everyone who’s worked in the pantry has, at some point, come across a donation—something packaged, or a vegetable, or meat—and we’ve asked each other, ‘What would you do with this?’ ” said Kathryn Straniero, executive director at TWC.

This is the second year for the event, which in 2013 generated 50 recipes including chicken tetrazzini, gumbo, and fried ravioli. TWC handed out the resulting cookbook to food pantry clients, who said they appreciated a novel twist on staples like canned pumpkin, which students used to create sloppy joes and brownies. This year, clients said they’re looking for more vegetable-based recipes and help using beans including lima, kidney and pinto varieties.

Based on the success of the inaugural event, RMU turned the competition into a for-credit course in 2014. Working in teams of three, the student chefs spent 10 weeks developing recipes to be judged in each of six categories: 30-minute meal, child-friendly dish, great leftovers, key ingredient, cultural diversity and chef’s specialty. “This is a great partnership for RMU,” said Mark Wroczynski, chef instructor. “The ingredients are challenging for our students, and they know the recipes can make a real difference for the clients at Together We Cope.”

Together We Cope is a nonprofit prevention agency based in Tinley Park that provides resources to families in temporary crisis in 27 south suburban communities, enabling them to stay in their homes. In 2014, TWC received its fourth four-star rating from Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management.