How to Become the Next Humber College Iron Chef Champion

Since 2010, the halls of Humber College buzz with anticipation and camaraderie each fall as Culinary Professors and Chefs Simon Stenkes and Shonah Chalmers organize and execute the school’s annual Iron Chef Competition.

Following this year’s exciting installment, we spoke with Chefs Stenkes and Chalmers to reminisce and dove into their inspirations, criteria and objectives for competitions past, present and future. Take notes, chefs-to-be!

What first inspired you to organize the Iron Chef competition at Humber College and when did this competition first start?

The Iron Chef Competition started off originally as a way to use up perishable ingredients before we closed the college for the three weeks between semesters. Whereas, the inspiration for the competition came from the students. They asked to have an internal “friendly competition” to help improve their skills.

Each year, more and more students became very excited about the competition and many who were intimidated looked forward to the opportunity of being able to try their hand at a culinary competition but in a fun and friendly environment. As the competition’s popularity grew, the parameters of the competition needed to evolve as well. It quickly turned into the great event it is now.

We’re so inspired to organize this competition by the students’ excitement and eagerness to step out of their comfort zones. It provides them with the ability to apply the skills and knowledge they’ve acquired in their studies here at Humber.

What was the initial response of your culinary, baking and nutrition student base?

The first Iron Chef competition was only with our culinary students, as we did not have a baking program at the time and the nutrition program was still very new. However, every year, the students’ response to this event has been great. You can hear them brainstorming ideas as you walk by in the halls. You see them huddled up in our open study areas planning their dishes, researching and writing recipes. Best of all, when you have members of different teams in the same courses, you hear them trash-talking each other - all friendly, of course! There is always such a buzz around the school during Humber’s Iron Chef season.

What was the main objective of organizing this competition? What were you hoping to impart to the students?

Initially, the main hope was to give our students a safe place to experience teamwork, competition and showcase their skills. More recently, it has become a way to select students that may be interested in competing on a local, national or international level, as we usually get those who have the “competition bug” or are top performers in class.

The objective is to have an inclusive event, where anyone who wants to take part can do so in a welcoming atmosphere where they can challenge themselves and learn about pressure. Being educators, we always choose our compulsory ingredients with great care, ensuring we balance some ingredients they are familiar with as well some ingredients they will need to research and practice with in order to be successful in the competition. We will always have a focus on student learning.

Describe the objective given to students on the competition day.

The students were required to write a three-course menu consisting of an appetizer, main and dessert utilizing all of the compulsory ingredients. They then submit an entry package with a written descriptive menu, recipes and action plans. During the competition, they would execute their menus and prepare and present four plates of each course. The compulsory ingredients for this year were as follows:

They’re also required to perform in a focused, professional and team player manner, and to put their best food on the plate with consideration to timing, temperature, taste and presentation.

What are the criteria given each year to the kitchen judges and the tasting judges?

The scoring was weighted at 25% kitchen and 75% tasting. To break it down further, the tasting judges are mandated to look at flavour, use of “mandatory ingredients” and presentation. Of course, they must all evaluate fairly and as unbiased as they can. The kitchen judges are then evaluating the items we teach in our classes: sanitation, organization, food handling, proper cooking techniques, teamwork, and professionalism. They are assessing everything up to the plating of the food.

What would you say is the most challenging part of this competition and what do you hope each student gets out of it?

One challenging part from an organizing perspective is making sure the students have what they need to execute their menus. We only hope that the students learn about some new ingredients, get some experience in a pressure situation and have fun.

Another challenge for the set-up is to get the initial interest in participating and collecting all of the team recipe packages in a timely manner. I believe that each student hopes to show off the skills they have learned thus far in the program. 

What has been your favourite dish produced in any of the Iron Chef Humber competitions so far and why?

There have been countless amazing dishes produced over the last few years. Each year, the students impress us more and more. One of the things we love the most is the unexpected; when a student or team of students digs deep and shows us something we didn’t know they had in them, it’s awesome!

What has been the biggest challenge in organizing or hosting a competition like Iron Chef Humber?

Over the years, we have focused primarily on the students’ experiences and only in the last few years have we decided to have “sponsors” involved. Finding a balance between keeping our focus on the students’ experience and working with the partners’ ROI expectations have made the organizing a little more challenging but super beneficial for our students, so it’s well worth it.

What’s your vision for the future? What does a future Iron Chef competition look like?

We do not intend to grow the size of our competition, 32 students is plenty annually. We enjoy having a diverse judging panel and look to always keep that level of feedback for the students. Perhaps more formalized sponsors and partners for the event, with more pre-competition media coverage.

Also, crazier secret ingredients! We took it easy on them this year with pretzels. We have some pretty wild things we’re contemplating. Stay tuned.

Any advice you would give a current or future student considering joining the competition in the near future?

Do it, you’ll love it.

The best advice we can give students is to build your team like a professional sports team. Surround yourself with others that have different strengths than you. I have always told students, to have a winning team, you need a diverse group of four students because having four people that can all cook meat well does not help with unique plating nor creative desserts, as it is a three-course meal.

The teams that typically do the best are teams that are of mixed disciplines. This year is no exception. The winning team was comprised of two culinary students and two baking and pastry students. Each student had their own strengths/expertise and complimented each other. It really showed in their organization and final dishes.

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