Golden recipe
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Jared Hartley has finally cooked up a golden recipe.
The aspiring chef, lead a four man Prince Edward Collegiate Institute (PECI) team to a golden top place finish at 14th annual Junior Iron Chef Competition, held Saturday at Loyalist College.
This was the 17-year-old's third attempt at first place, after finishing second in his last two tries. PECI's last first place finish was earned in 2010.
“I've come second twice by small margins,” he said before the judges announced the outcome. “Maybe the third time will be a charm.”
“I feel relieved,” Hartley said after being crowned champion with his fellow teammates; Josh Gibbons, Andrew Petrasek and Keith Petrasek. “It says that you should never give up on something that you're passionate about and that determination will always come through in the end.”
The Picton-based high school beat out Kingston's La Salle Secondary School, Kingston, to earn top honours from the panel of judges, which included two Loyalist culinary students.
“They really enjoyed our food and thought we worked well and in a timely manner,” Hartley said of the judges assessment.
Keith Petrasek like Hartley is eyeing a career in the culinary arts.
“This is one of our better performances as a whole,” Petrasek said about his second-year competing with the team. “I'm aspiring to be a pastry chef and the skills you learn in the competition is very beneficial. This year I came up with the dessert recipe.”
The team will be hosting a fundraising dinner at Waupoos Estate Winery, May 13, to cultivate funds needed to keep the PECI culinary program afloat.
Appetizer: butternut squash stuffed ravioli with balsamic and sage truffled corn emulsion and green beans with almonds (required elements – squash, corn, green beans)
Entrée: poached pork tenderloin stuffed with ginger, garlic, coriander, shitake broth, soba noodles, bok choy and snow peas (required element – pork tenderloin).
Dessert: trio of chocolate mousse - layered white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate, candied orange zest cookie, tuile raspberry coulis.
Jason.miller@sunmedia.ca