Iron Chef. Food / en Iron Chef: And then there were 3… /news/iron-chef-and-then-there-were-3 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Iron Chef: And then there were 3…</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Ailin%20Xi%20heartbroken%20see-through.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DBtZp64T 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Ailin%20Xi%20heartbroken%20see-through.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=-5gWIFBR 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Ailin%20Xi%20heartbroken%20see-through.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mtoHsuCg 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Ailin%20Xi%20heartbroken%20see-through.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DBtZp64T" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-02-16T16:04:55-05:00" title="Thursday, February 16, 2017 - 16:04" class="datetime">Thu, 02/16/2017 - 16:04</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Chef James Piggott (left) breaks the news to Ailin Xi (third from left) that she won't be in the core squad for the inter-university Iron Chef competition. She is guaranteed a spot next year (photo illustration by Geoffrey Vendeville)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Geoffrey Vendeville</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/iron-chef-food" hreflang="en">Iron Chef. Food</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">οchef James Piggott faces his "toughest decision" so far – cutting a student chef from the team</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Chef<strong> James Piggott</strong>, coach of the University of Toronto’s Iron Chef team, dished out some tough love on Valentine’s Day.</p> <p>At their Tuesday practice, he had to choose one student chef to cut from the team. The three remaining members&nbsp;will face McGill University, University of Ottawa and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in a cookoff later this month. The fourth student becomes an understudy this year – but is&nbsp;guaranteed a spot next year.</p> <p>It's the first year that οis&nbsp;hosting the inter-university Iron Chef culinary competition.&nbsp;<em>οNews</em> is following the home team every step of the way&nbsp;from selection to the competition, including streaming the competition live on Feb. 25.</p> <h3><a href="/ironchef">Catch up on οIron Chef news,&nbsp;videos and more&nbsp;</a></h3> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fNHPIQbEfqw" width="750"></iframe></p> <p>Piggott made the announcement at a long table in the New College cafeteria, where he and the students tasted the main course they had made that evening, a tea-smoked salmon with sweet pea puree on multigrain risotto with scalloped crispy parsnips and a lemon beurre blanc sauce.</p> <p>“The toughest decision of the last few weeks is to pick the backup,” he told them. “It came down to a question of cooking skills and experience. You’ve all got fantastic attitudes. You’d all be very successful at the competition.”</p> <p><strong>Felipe Branco</strong>, <strong>Brettany Colette</strong> and <strong>Jordan Su</strong> made the cut. &nbsp;<strong>Ailin Xi&nbsp;–</strong>&nbsp;the youngest student&nbsp;at 19 –&nbsp;was left out.<br> <br> “They’re telling me don’t be sad. I was never sad about it in the first place,” Xi told <em>οNews</em>. “When I made the team, I knew there was a big chance I’d be the backup because they’re so much more experienced.”</p> <p>She said she was flattered to be in the running this year, and that she’s confident the team will triumph without her. At the competition&nbsp;Feb. 25, she plans to be U of T’s lead cheerleader.</p> <p>“I’m going to try to lighten the mood and tell them everything is going to be okay. It’s very easy to stress out in a competition when there’s a time limit,” she said. “I’m definitely going to be there for my team.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Xi won’t be going for glory this year unless one of the others drops out but she will be the&nbsp;linchpin of next year’s team, Piggott said.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__3471 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/Piggott%20shows%20Branco%20how%20to%20make%20the%20salmon.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>οChef James Piggott shows student and Iron Chef team member Felipe Branco one step in the preparation of a tea-smoked salmon (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)</em></p> <p>Piggott told Xi he could sympathize with being left out of the first team of a culinary competition.</p> <p>That’s exactly what happened to him the first time he went to the IKA Culinary Olympics&nbsp;in Erfurt, Germany in 2000. He was a backup for the Ontario regional team that went <a href="http://www.unichef.com/oly_results.htm">on to finish in second place.</a></p> <p>“I helped the team with everything, but I didn’t get a medal because I was a backup,” he said. “But I knew by doing that I was setting myself up for the next Olympics.”</p> <p>He went to the next three competitions as a full team member, he said.</p> <p>At the end of Iron Chef, Piggott said Xi will&nbsp;join the rest of the team in celebrating what he expects will be&nbsp;a historic victory.</p> <p>“We’ll go to the awards banquet, and we’ll rub it in a little bit,” he said. “What have I said from the beginning? This is our house, and we don’t lose in our house.”&nbsp;</p> <p>With the competition less than a week away, U of T’s director of culinary operations and executive chef <strong>Jaco Lokker</strong>&nbsp;says the home team is in good shape.</p> <p>They've worked hard and made progress since the students first met three weeks ago, he said.</p> <p>"They say a lot of things have been given to this generation&nbsp;but not here. They’ve all earned this,” he added. “There are no short-cuts in the kitchen.”&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:04:55 +0000 geoff.vendeville 104971 at