A Tearful Evening: Chef Challenge Recap #9

Onions are this week's secret ingredient at the Chefs Challenge.

Written by J. Hansbrough

Immediately following the third heat of the Chef’s Challenge quarterfinals, distinct noises could be heard among the din of post-meal mingling. Beneath the little talk and chatter, one could make out the crinkling of small plastic wrappers, the minute clicks of unclasped Altoids containers, and the aerosol spritzes of tubes of Binaca. Yes, the night’s secret ingredient was the tongue-pleasing, halitosis-generating onion, in all its pungent glory, with dishes featuring white onions, yellow onions, leeks, and shallots.

See more photos from this event at Camilla Canlan's photo gallery

After victories in the opening rounds, tonight’s competitors–A Moveable Feast from Hendersonville and Nico’s Cafe from Waynesville—were faced with a challenging ingredient. Onions are often used to complement a dish, to sweeten up a savory meat or add bite to a salad, but rarely do the eye-watering vegetables stand out as the focal point of a meal.

In some cases, the competitors allowed the raw onion flavor to be on full display. Nico’s Café served the first dish, a tangy-sweet salad of mixed greens and cucumbers, coated in sweet Vidalia onion dressing. There was no mistaking the main ingredient with this salad. Likewise, A Moveable Feast’s dessert offering, the evening’s fifth dish, was a foamy, buttery sabagnon, which packed a powerful punch of candied shallots.

On the other hand, the presence of onion flavor was somewhat scaled back for the main courses. Nico’s scallion risotto and leek coleslaw made a delicious, relatively subdued accompaniment to tender, marinated duck breast with a rosemary demi-glace. A Moveable Feast presented crunchy tobacco onions atop mesquite-rubbed hanger steak, while carmelized onions snuck in among the potato purée and mushroom reduction in the evening’s fourth dish.

In the end (literally), Nico’s Cafe pulled ahead, providing the last, and highest-rated, dish of the night. The team’s crumbly apple-shallot cobbler manipulated the onion flavor to super sweet perfection for a delicious close to a highly creative contest. When the final votes were tallied, Nico’s edged A Moveable Feast by 4.6 percent of the vote—the equivalent of about one-and-a-half score sheets. Chef Juan Carlos Martinez was announced as the winner, followed by a round of applause and a mad rush to the peppermint bowl on the host stand.

Team Nico’s Café’s dishes:

Mixed greens and cucumber salad with Vidalia onion dressing, tobacco onions, and chives

Ponzu-marinated duck breast with scallion risotto, leek slaw, and rosemary demi-glace

Apple-shallot cobbler with fresh pear sauce

Team A Moveable Feast’s dishes:

Scallops pan-dusted with onion flour, melted leek risotto, chive-scallion-crab remoulade, and crispy leeks

Mesquite-rubbed hanger steak with carmelized and tobacco onions, potato purée, and shallot-shiitake mushroom veal reduction

Candied shallot sabagnon with local strawberries and butter-poached pears

Next Week: Curras Nuevo Cuisine in Woodfin VS. Cucina 24 of Asheville