Well, according to Sherry’s intro, she’s much MORE than a “lunch lady.” And it showed. Her meals at Wilfred Laurier University looked more like restaurant food than what I found in my high school or university cafeteria. But that’s not the point. The point was that she, along with three others (including a guy who works at a dinner theatre), was a competitor in Chopped Canada.
Shredded wheat squares (Brand name: Shreddies)
First round ingredients consisted of smelts, shredded wheat squares, red cabbage and kaffir lime. Because of what was used for the meal, I was not surprised that all four contestants made variations of crusted smelt with the shredded wheat. However, what was served alongside the smelts were different. One chef made smelt tempura and served it with a red cabbage slaw with a kaffir lime and crème fraîche dipping sauce. For the most part, the judges loved the smelt, though it could have been a bit crispier. One judge thought there should have been a bit more slaw. Another chef paired the crusted smelts with coloured quinoa, to which he threw in the cabbage. The dish was supposed to have been Moroccan-inspired (shouldn’t he have used couscous, in this case? I guess it would lack colour…) and judges loved the colour and presentation. A judge even noted that it reminded him of the beach, with “gold sand” of the crusted smelts transitioning to the “dark sands” of the quinoa. However, the quinoa was also a bit too dry, as it was a bit undercooked (use more water, dude). A third chef made quick braised cabbage to go along with the crusted smelts, which one of the judges loved (especially the level of acidity), but was criticized for inconsistency as not all plates had the lemon garnish. Sherry the Lunch Lady (sorry, but I didn’t know what else to call her) was the only contestant who didn’t deep fry her smelts (everyone else was using it) and it hurt her dish a bit – pan frying made it a little bit soggy. Sherry was also criticized for NOT using any additional ingredients. Luckily, she was not chopped from the round. Instead, Pieter, who made the Moroccan-inspired appetizer was.
Kumato tomato (a round 2 ingredient)
We remain sea-centric for round two as smoked eel was one of the mandatory ingredients, along with cattail (a wetland plant), Kumato tomatoes and celery heart. For this round, Sherry actually utilized other ingredients in the pantry, making an eel and cattail chowder using fish stock among the ingredients. However, reviews were mixed. Some of the judges liked the chowder, but others thought that the use of fish stock was not the best choice – eel is already very strong in taste, after all. In addition, more ingredients could have been used. Another contestant created a smoked eel cake (think crab cake) with a tomato and cattail bruschetta, which the judges loved. However, he also used sweet potatoes, and it was a bit out of place. The third remaining contestant charred the smoked eel and glazed it with a sauce made with murin, soya and sugar, serving it with sweet potatoes and cattail. However, she left the tomatoes until last minute, and had to “toss” it in. She was, of course, criticized for that. She was NOT the one chopped, however. Instead, Sherry was.
For the dessert round, bread sticks, creton (a spread made with pork, onions and spices, a Quebecois dish), apples and sumac. One went right to the obvious and made an apple crisp, spiced with sumac. He also added almonds to the bread sticks as the dessert’s topping. The creton was used as a cream. However, because creton is savoury, the dish confused the judges. One said he wasn’t sure whether it was a dessert! The other remaining contestant made a sumac goat yogurt ice milk and apple fritter/donuts with a creton white wine chutney as a filling. The fritters were criticized for being a bit too dry, likely because she had some trouble filling them. A judge noted that the donuts could have been left plain, with the chutney used as side or dip. Despite having some issues with the dessert, she was crowned the winner.
Next week is the season finale!
Image credits: Shredded Wheat Squares – By Ubcule (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons; Kumato – By Ccorreal (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
