The 4th Annual Wilson Iron Chef Competition and Benefit Auction was held at Wilson High School in West Lawn on Saturday. Hosted by BCTV’s Best Bites presenters Mickey Baines and Brad Weisman, the cooking competition showcased three local chefs with their sioux chiefs and four judges.
Competing in this years event was Chef Joshua Hanies of the Beverly Hills Tavern, Chef Mike Rauenzahn of the Bernville Eagle Hotel and Chef Tim Twiford of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Each chef was presented with a few mystery ingredients and a full pantry to create their masterpiece. One of the most notable “mystery ingredients” the chefs had fun with included a bag of Cheese Puffs.
Each team only had 35 minutes to make a signature gourmet meal for the judges. A time limit easily attained by Twiford and Rauenzahn, however Hanies took it down to the last few seconds finishing just in the nick of time.
This years judges included Linda Bell of Culinary Classroom, Mike Kratz, Executive Chef at The Highlands at Wyomissing and Kenny Magana of Sweet Street.
After a tough judging, Joshua Hanies and Pete Reed took the coveted title of Wilson Iron Chef. We spoke with Haines just after the awards presentation. He was happy to win, although he wasn’t too surprised as he noticed two of the judges finished his plate, which they did not do with his competitors.
The day wasn’t just about the headlining competition, the Wilson Iron Chef Competition also included a Benefit Auction, “First Bite” and the People Choice Competition.
The “First Bite” was held prior to the main event in the gymnasium. Food enthusiasts munched and sampled their way through 30+ vendors. The Peoples Choice winner was Don’s Food Products & Melanie’s Medleys.
