Dust the Apron and Sharpen the Knives
Each spring, the staid pavilion of McCall’s Shore Lodge transforms into a fierce battleground with only one victor: Culinary King of the Mountain.
This year Shore Lodge hosted its sixth annual Culinary King of the Mountain Competition, pitting four professional chefs from popular local restaurants in a three-round battle to see which chef would be crowned king. There’s a catch: Each chef was joined by a team of amateur culinarians who believed they had the chops to get in the trenches and work side-by-side with some of the best in the business.
“The ability to watch a team knowing that some are amateurs is way more fun than just watching one pro cook,” said Mark Gallaudet, executive director of culinary, food and beverage operations for Shore Lodge. “It’s also fun watching the interaction of the amateurs with the professional chef.”
Chefs featured in this year’s contest were Justin Scheiling of Mai Thai in Boise, Frank Bacquet of Bacquet’s in Eagle, Christopher Zee of Zee’s Rooftop in Boise and Vern Bauer of Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, all of which were first-time participants. Each of the chefs met their amateur team members on Friday night ahead of the competition to ease the learning curve and become familiar with each other’s unique skill sets.
“No matter what, on Saturday morning there are some jitters [among competitors],” Gallaudet said. “But once the first round is under their belts, teams start to get into a groove.”
Just like popular culinary competition television shows, each year’s match consists of three rounds: appetizer, entrée and dessert. Each team is given an identical basket of four uncommon mystery ingredients, which must be used in their creations, plus access to a pantry stocked with hundreds of more traditional ingredients. Past mystery baskets have featured geoduck, Maine lobster, rack of elk and dinosaur kale.
For amateurs, the contest presents a unique opportunity to be mentored by a professional chef and glean a few tips including knife skills, how to manage temperatures for sautés, even matching oils to different cooking techniques. With the clock constantly ticking and the pressure of an audience watching every move, amateurs experience how the pros prioritize tasks with time in mind and present dishes elegantly for the judges.
“As a chef, you kind of get to a point where you have a lot of skill and knowledge and it kind of turns more into the mentoring side of things,” said Justin Scheiling, who has been an executive chef for 16 years. “Just taking the time to pass on that knowledge that people have passed on to me over the years is really important.”
In the past, bonds formed during the course of the four-hour event have been so strong that they forged friendships between amateur culinarians and participating chefs.
“By the end of the competition, they are hugging and high-fiving,” Gallaudet said of the camaraderie. “It’s not uncommon for the paying competitors to visit their chef’s establishment soon after the competition as well as stay in touch with them.”
One team is eliminated from contending for the title of Culinary King of the Mountain following each round based on a panel of other local culinary professionals, but the experience doesn’t end there. Instead, each eliminated team continues cooking for fun through the end of the competition before all of the dishes are auctioned off to members of the audience, with all proceeds going to the McCall-Donnelly Education Foundation.
It might not be the $10,000 check that the Food Network forks over to champions of “Chopped,” but to culinary aficionados the Culinary King of the Mountain Competition offers the home cook a chance of a lifetime. Besides, who wouldn’t want to hold the title of “King of the Mountain” for 365 days?
