Chefs test culinary skills in cookoff at the Fair

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Jeanne Crane stirs the pot as stewed apples with cinnamon simmer on a second hot plate. (Right) Judge Lionel Heydel (right) checks the progress of Rome Santiago of Albion.

KNOWLESVILLE – Five culinary artists competed Saturday in the first ever Stone Soup Cookoff, sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Cooperative Extension and Community Action of Genesee & Orleans.

The contest was a spinoff of a grant received by Community Action and Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension to fund a program called Stone Soup.

Contestants paid a fee to enter and received two week-long passes to the fair, plus prize money. Six individuals signed up, with five showing up to compete. They were Debbie Dunham of Knowlesville, Jeanne Crane of Waterport, Robin Boyle of Waterport, Rome Santiago of Albion and Chuck Kelly of Buffalo.

Marie Gabalski, head of the nutrition program at Cooperative Extension, facilitated the event and welcomed the contestants.

Marie Gabalski, center, nutritionist at Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension, welcomes chefs to the first ever Stone Soup Cookoff at the Orleans County 4-H Fair on Saturday. From left, contestants are Debbie Dunham of Knowlesville, Robin Boyle of Waterport, Rome Santiago of Albion, Jeanne Crane of Waterport and Chuck Kelly of Buffalo.

Contestants were each provided with a table which contained spices, apples, oranges, a lemon, lime juice, potatoes, oranges and onions, in addition to all the staples. They each had two hot plates, a frying pan and assorted pans, dishes and utensils. The entrants had 15 minutes to get set up and familiarize themselves with the ingredients and cookware, then they had 45 minutes to prepare a dish for the three judges.

Judges were Lionel Heydel, former chef at the French Culinary Institute and Harvest; Renee Hungerford, director of Cooperative Extension; and Sarah Martin, nutritionist at Cooperative Extension.

Dunham said she has never done anything like this before, but is used to cooking dinners for their big family, which numbers 23 at special gatherings.

“I took the Stone Soup program and that was fun, so I thought I’d try this too,” she said.

Crane said she attended a Stone Soup program in Holley and it was very interesting.

“I thought I’d do this just for fun,” she said.

Boyle loves to cook and is constantly trying new dishes, such as chicken marbella which used chicken thighs marinaded in red wine vinegar, olive oil, basil, bay leaves, garlic and capers, then baked after adding white wine, prunes and black olives and covering with brown sugar.

“I didn’t try to think about what I would fix here,” Boyle said. “But it was fun and I’d do it again.”

Boyle loves to cook so much, that in addition to her regular job as a teacher’s aide at BOCES during the school year, she is spending her summer cooking in the mornings at Boone and Crocket’s Café at Point Breeze weekdays and breakfast at Elba Diner on weekends.

Santiago also loves to cook and prepares meals at home all the time.

“Most of the time it’s by trial and error,” he said. “I just make it up. My favorite thing is lasagna.”

(Left) Robin Boyle explains her dish to the judges. She prepared a salad with greens, apples and oranges, fried potato slices topped with apple and cheese and a potato slice topped with a fried egg. (Right) Debbie Dunham plates her dish for the judges, which includes French toast, bok choy with potatoes and a salad with citrus and avocado oil dressing.

Kelly saw the contest advertised on Facebook and thought it would be fun.

“I love to cook,  but I’ve never done anything like this,“ he said.

He said his specialties are smoking and grilling.

Dunham prepared French toast, bok choy with potato and onion and a salad with citrus and avocado oil dressing.

Boyle’s offering was a salad with oranges and apples, fried potato slices topped with cheese and apple wedges and a slice of fried potato topped with a fried egg.

Crane chose to create an appetizer plate of apple and orange wedges, cheese and radishes with a side salad and dish of sauteed apples with cinnamon.

Kelly made a stuffed French toast and potatoes with bok choy.

Santiago took advantage of a can of beans to make a bean soup with garlic and onion and an apple/orange salad. His dish would end up being the winner, as the judges loved the seasoning in the soup. His prize was $60.

Boyle finished in second place, followed by Dunham, Kelly and Crane.

Each contestant was allowed to take home the food which wasn’t used, which included eggs, onion, potatoes, oranges, apples, flour, sugar, spices and more.

Gabalski asked the contestants if they would do it again, and their answer was a resounding “Yes.”