Phoebe Ministries hosts first 'Iron Chef' battle in Allentown
Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 4:02 AM
By Kelly Huth | The Express-Times
Bud Kuhns, 84, never thought he’d be participating in an “Iron Chef” battle.
But on Monday, Kuhns joined fellow Phoebe Ministries residents in an acorn squash melee at Phoebe Allentown Healthcare Center.
Kuhns, born and raised in Allentown, said his training as a high school-age soda jerk at Held’s Pharmacy and later as a pizza maker for the Paddock Restaurant in Allentown, would come in handy for the battle.
The “Chef’s Challenge” was modeled after Food Network’s “Iron Chef.” A replica of Kitchen Stadium, with deep-fryers, refrigerators, blenders, mixers, two ovens and a fully stocked pantry, set the tone for the show, as did the playing of the hit show’s theme song.
There were seven to each team, three residents and four chefs from Cura Hospitality — the organization that coordinated the event.
Participants were told to prepare an appetizer, entree and dessert recipes for three potential ingredients: pumpkin, acorn squash or chestnuts. Minutes before the battle started, the cooks, clad in personalized chef’s jackets, learned acorn squash would decide their fate.
Kuhns and fellow Team Flambe chef Sara Heintzelman, 83, presented the judges with a meal of pan-seared sea scallops with acorn squash puree, oven-roasted swai with a roasted mushroom and acorn squash cous cous and acorn squash turnovers with orange-squash puree and candied glazed cranberries for dessert.
“It’s amazing what they have up there,” Kuhns said of the layout, including an induction stove that boils water in seconds.
Each team could bring an ingredient of their choice to the competition. For Team Flambe, flaky puff pastry paired with acorn squash puree formed their dessert turnovers. For Team Spice, brandy became the key note in the sauce accompanying potato and acorn squash pierogies.
Between the cooking action, residents watched period commercials featuring the 1970s Bounty ad with Rosie and Starkist’s Charlie the Tuna.
Brynn Buskirk, director of marketing and community relations for Phoebe Ministries, said it’s the first time they’d had an event like this.
“We’re always looking for new ways to engage our residents,” Buskirk said. “Just the simple act of cooking — it’s soothing, exercises memory skills and it’s a physical act. It involves the whole body."
