A Day in the Life of a Cast-Iron Chef

Pots of water boil; steam rises in the air, mingling with the chef’s anticipation. A fan blows behind them as the crowd cheers before them.
“We got some screamers out there,” Chef Roberta Cattan jokes with the announcer.

Roberta Cattan and Robert Beauregard take their places on the Gourmet Garden stage. With just a half an hour on the clock, they’ve got to pull off a meal that wows the judges.

Cattan, a blue-ribbon champ six years running, is trying to hold on to her title. She is up against first- time competitor Beauregard, and he just may get in the way of her seventh consecutive win.

“If I’m going to compete, I’d rather compete against a champion,” Beauregard tells the audience. Cattan smiles, because that is exactly what he’s doing.

They must simultaneously prepare a blue-ribbon meal with yet-to-be announced secret ingredients, while also being a crowd-pleaser. And it certainly is a big crowd.

As the competition begins, the wicker basket appears. Inside is the secret ingredient. The announcer in his best game-show host voice says, “Today, the secret ingredients are…flank steak and bell peppers.”

Both of the chefs’ minds are working fast. How do I prepare the meat? With what side dishes? Should I grab more green peppers off the Kentucky Proud cart?

While the announcer warms up the audience with his silly shtick, the chefs decide. Beauregard tells the audience he has chosen to pan-sear the flank steak and serve it with angel hair pasta and Tuscan drunken vegetables. Cattan, with her title on the line, announces she will thinly slice her flank steak on the bias and serve it with a vegetable medley and mashed potatoes. Cattan also plans to use her own secret ingredient: a blend of 11 different spices she creates herself.

They cook, they smile and they hurry. While the audience is entertained with free giveaways and an Elvis impersonator in a gold lame suit, time is running short.

The judges have been selected randomly out of the audience and are patiently waiting. Each has a white board where they will score each dish on its taste, creativity and presentation. Beauregard finishes first and brings his dish down to the judges. The teenage girl from Spain takes only a small bite before making a face, but she still marks him fairly high. The other two judges are Kentucky natives and enjoy the dish a lot. Cattan brings her dish and receives three good reviews. This will be a close call.

The announcer asks for the final results. By only two points, the winner is…Roberta Cattan! Win number seven! She smiles like its Christmas morning and her present is another blue ribbon that she will place next to the six others she proudly owns. Maybe next year an eighth will complete the set, but for now the title of Cast-Iron Chef is still hers.

Can’t get enough of the Cast-Iron Chef Competition? Catch these match-ups on the Gourmet Garden stage sponsored by the Kentucky Beef Producers at 1:30 p.m. daily in the South Wing A Lobby. Robert Staggs of Standard Country Club vs. Bill Lynch of Le Relais on Monday, Aug. 24. Brandon Mitchell of Mitchell and Son Catering vs. Pete Robledo of Kroger Catering and Banquet Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Tim Tucker of Salvation Army vs. Adam Hilsenrad of Café Beignet on Wednesday, Aug.26. Tavis Rockwell of Corbett’s Restaurant vs. Kendra Clark of Anglers Cove at Greenbo Lake State Park Resort on Thursday, Aug. 27. Colin Simmons of Black Cat Catering vs. Jared Richardson of Cleveland’s Restaurant on Friday, Aug. 28. Hollis Barnett of Varanese vs. Robert Black of The Blue-Eyed Chef Catering on Saturday, Aug. 29. Richard Lowe of Coach Lamp Restaurant & Pub vs. Mark Sullivan of Mitchell’s Fish Market on Sunday, Aug. 30.