Dueling iron chefs showdown at Mountain Town Station
Mountain Town Brewery Executive Chef Doug Evans (left) and his crew prepare their second course dish to serve for the third annual Iron Chef Showdown, Friday, Aug. 21.
Fairy lights and 80’s soft rock set the scene.
The chatting patrons of the third annual Iron Chef showdown sat unaware of the culinary chaos Mountain Town Station Executive Chef Doug Evans was preparing to unleash.
As he wiped the sweat from his brow, tired from a relentless round of deep frying funnel cakes for his first course of chicken and waffles, he sized up the competition — Brent Paterson, executive chef and general manager of Camille’s on the River.
This year, Evans could taste victory.
“I started cooking in all kinds of places, mainly like fast food (establishments) and wanted to learn more about real cooking,” Evans said. “So I came (to Mountain Town) July 15 of 1996 and slowly came up through the ranks and have just been riding the wave since. It’s a real labor of love.”
Evans, who describes his cooking style as “meat and potatoes,” derives his repertoire of recipes from his own Mount Pleasant roots.
“I know what people from this area like, but I’ve also been exposed to some of the higher end stuff so I try to make a fusion of the two,” Evans said. “Almost like comfort food but with a weird twist to it.”
To emphasize his point, Evans’ main, third course entre was a beer braised beef brisket with a side of Cool Ranch Doritos crusted onion rings and redskin potatoes.
Paterson would be serving grilled pork tenderloin with an arugula salad, doused in basil vinaigrette, and a side of Michigan grown root veggies.
“(My) cooking style is a little bit of everything,” said Paterson, who got his own foot in the culinary industry’s door through Mountain Town. “We like a lot of the fresh, local produce so that’s kind of something we try to focus on at Camille’s, especially with the garden and (other) local farms.”
The garden, where roughly 65 patrons/judges sat, would serve as Paterson and Evans’ battle ground. Through a three course meal, blindly taste tested by attendees and voted on after each platter was cleared away, a winner would be determined.
For Mount Pleasant resident, Warren Pelcher, this would be his third time partaking in the Iron Chef challenge. He takes pride in never having missed a competition yet, being a patron of Mountain Town “since its inception”.
“I’ve always been a fan of Mountain Town and the setting (of the competition) is just beautiful,” Pelcher said. “Plus, (the chefs) pair everything nicely, the food and the wine, it’s just a good time.”
As plate after plate was carried away from the dining area, with the arms of the servers never seeming to tire, the clock ticked on and the announcement of the winner drew closer.
And although stress was a common factor in most of the meals Evans created, making sure that everything was properly plated and customers would enjoy their dinner, he sat back against his cooking area and relaxed.
“I could never do a desk job because (this) job is different every day,” Evans said. “It’s exciting, it keeps you engaged – you never know what’s going to happen.”
As the night drew to a close and so did the small talk, food coma hitting the patrons with a hard left to their guts, the emcee came over the microphone to announce the tallying of the votes.
With 44 votes to Mountain Town’s own 10, Camille’s won the first course.
But victory overall, with 45 votes in favor of their second course and 43 in favor of their third, went to Mountain Town. With a wry smile, Evans could rest well knowing that the title of Iron Chef had once again found its way back into his hands.
Evans, however, refused to call himself a victor as he posed for photos with Paterson, laughing.
“It’s kind of cliché, but the guests are the real winners tonight,” Evans said. “(Paterson) and I have worked together and been friends for a long time so we enjoy doing this stuff, it gives us a chance to give each other a hard time with some friendly competition.”
The next outdoor garden party will take place Sept. 11. For $50 patrons can dine on a four course meal with complementary wine and beer. Tickets can be found by calling Camille’s on the River at (989) 773-0259.
