Livingston County Iron Chef Craig Myrand Defends His Title
The judges have spoken.
This year’s Livingston County Iron Chef is a returning champion.
Chef Craig Myrand, culinary director of Adam Merkel Restaurants – which include Diamonds Steak & Seafood, The Silver Pig and Cello Italian Restaurant in Howell – took home the title Thursday night’s Gleaners Iron Chef Competition.
But it was a close call, according to the competition’s judges.
Myrand defeated challenger chef Ryan Louwaert of Bourbons in Brighton by just a 24-point difference in the 680-point competition.
The two chefs went head-to-head in a friendly cooking competition for charity, the 14th annual fundraiser based on Food Network Channel’s culinary television game show “Iron Chef America.”
The event was held Thursday night at Bordine’s Nursery in Genoa Township.
Each chef prepared an appetizer, entrée and dessert featuring a secret ingredient revealed that night: blue cheese.
Myrand said incorporating a mystery ingredient is a challenge.
“We’ve got some concepts, like seven or eight ideas, but sometimes the mystery ingredient doesn’t fit and you got to improvise,” he said.
Myrand’s winning entrée was grilled chicken thighs with portobello mushrooms, roasted Brussels sprouts and gnocchi in a blue cheese cream sauce. He made mixed berry pot stickers with a blue cheese glaze and grilled grapes for dessert.
Despite his overall loss, the judge’s liked Louwaert’s appetizer, a plate of grilled sea scallops with sautéed mushrooms and vegetables in a rosemary demi-glace, better than Myrand’s version of sea scallops. He also cooked pork loin with an apple cider gastric, vegetables and a slaw featuring spinach, apple and blue cheese and berry pound cake for dessert.
“I don’t want to lose, but it’s a friendly competition,” Louwaert said. “We’re all chefs doing this for a good cause.”
Another face-off pitted the Howell and Brighton restaurants against one another when two local mixologists faced off in a quick six-minute Iron Chef Mixology Competition.
Mixologist Caitlin Wilkinson, of Diamonds Steak and Seafood, beat two-time returning champion Toni Pomranky, who works at Bourbons.
Wilkinson won the cocktail mix-off with sloe gin fizz featuring honey sage syrup, grapefruit juice and a secret ingredient revealed only that night: roses.
She said she prepared for the competition by trying out ideas on her co-workers.
“I went through a lot of craft cocktail recipes,” she said, adding she thought a lot about what herbs and syrups she should bring with her to the competition.
Pomranky mixed roses into a bourbon cocktail featuring pineapple.
She said the mixology competition was about “charity for one, because it raises money for a good cause.” But, she added, it’s also about “recognition” and gaining “street cred.”
The charity event was expected to raise thousands of dollars for Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan.
Last year’s event raised over $100,000 for Gleaners Shared Harvest Pantry in Genoa Township, which was enough to provide over 300,000 meals for those in need, according to Gleaners CEO Gerry Brisson.
Brisson said the chef competition events over 14 years has raised enough money for about 2.4 million meals.
“A community cannot thrive if it’s not well-nourished, and it’s so good to connect that idea with this competition,” he told a crowd of several hundred attendees Thursday night. “Even though the economy is better … we’re still seeing over 750 families a month right here just a few blocks away (at the local food bank).”
The competition was moderated by Steve Garagiola, a news anchor for WDIV-TV, and Neal Rubin, a columnist for The Detroit News, served as color commentator for the night.
In addition to pitting chef against chef, the charity event also featured hors d’oeuvres, desserts and beverages from local eateries and breweries and a silent auction.
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