Cast Iron CookOff Weekend

One of the goals of the Collaborative for the 21st Century is to promote the regional cuisine of Appalachia through marketing of gastronomic tourism. It also encourages improving the distribution of local foods to local markets, enhancing the nutritional quality and economic vitality of the region. Recognizing the chefs in the region who use local produce and proteins is part of the mission.

One of the Collaborative’s major fundraisers was held in January: the 7th annual Cast Iron Cook-Off at the world class Greenbrier resort located in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. The Greenbrier, itself known for the quality of its culinary offerings, provided impeccable service and abundant space for the cooking events and subsequent awards ceremony and dinner. Meeting rooms were available for private team planning meetings and all attendees were housed in comfortable rooms at a considerable discount.

Arriving at the Greenbrier is a treat. Access to the resort is convenient off I-64 by train and by air. Bell hops assisted with offloading supplies, food and cookware, and teams were able to keep trolleys to expedite movement to the cooking hall on Saturday.

The weekend’s activities started with a chef jacket ceremony where each team was introduced and each member received their jacket.

Following the reception people wandered off to the casino or local clubs.

Saturday dawned and the action began.

Teams met privately for an hour to discuss menus and strategize assignments. For some teams, this actually was the first time any specific skills were identified and workload distributed. Students in several high school cooking programs were available to round out teams that did not have enough adult workers. Other teams had long worked together as members of a culinary school or a restaurant team. Most teams were made up of a mixture of professional chefs, home cooks with high competence, and just regular people whose enthusiasm and high energy can run with suitable assignments.

On a staggered schedule, teams then made their way to the cooking hall for a half hour of prep.

Then they were told to get busy and an hour later came the call to plate.

More to follow