Local chefs compete in Chefs’ Challenge

Guests at Bloomington’s Buskirk-Chumley Theater leaned forward in their seats and whispered to their neighbors as a man in a plaid shirt rummaged through the on-stage pantry. They were waiting for the most important element of the night — the secret ingredient.

Out of nowhere and with a quick “Think fast,” the object is launched out of the man’s hand and toward the emcee, Brad Wilhelm.

A sharp cracking noise and a handful of yolk unveils the mystery. The chefs will be cooking with eggs.

Sunday night’s event was the Seventh Annual Bloomington Chefs’ Challenge, a game show-style contest comparable to “Iron Chef” in which three chefs and their sous-chefs compete for 60 minutes to create as many dishes worthy of a win as they can.

Returning champion Corbin Morwick took home top honors against this year, and Erika Yochum won the people’s choice award.

“Tonight on this stage you will see three local chefs engage in that blood-sport known as cooking, battling each other ... to win the coveted Golden Spatula,” Wilhelm said, a dramatic edge to his voice.

The stage was set up as a large cooking space divided into three separate kitchens for each team. All three chefs were introduced 15 minutes apart and given 60 minutes to create a masterpiece.

The countdown to the beginning of each chef’s time introduced a tense energy to the otherwise relaxed atmosphere. People whispered along with the omnipresent presenter’s voice — “Six ... five ... four ...”

“I think it’s going to be a little traumatic,” judge Paula Haney, owner of Hoosier Mama Pie Company in Chicago, said before the show. “I’m looking forward to watching the process, watching them run around like crazy and seeing if I can guess what they’re going to make.”

None of the three chefs went to professional cooking schools, and each went in a different direction.

Morwick returned with hopes of guarding the Golden Spatula. He is the executive chef
at One World Catering and boasted 16 years of experience coming into the night.

Bob Adkins had cooked professionally for a decade before stepping onto the Chefs’ Challenge stage, and he currently works as the executive chef at the Rail, a local bar and restaurant.

The last competitor, a returner from last year and the only female competing, was Yochum. With 20 years of experience, she has her own place, Feast Bakery Café.

The purpose of the event is to support the Monroe County Community Kitchen, which provides meals to people facing food insecurity, said Jim Becker, a 13-year member of the Board of Directors for the organization.

“It actually funds much of the programming that we have in the fall so that we’re able to continue serving,” Becker said.

Community Kitchen serves six sit-down meals a week to anyone who wants them, Becker said.

It’s run by staff and a volunteer network, and it works to alleviate hunger and poverty in Bloomington by providing meals for its residents in need. Fifty-three percent of those served by Community Kitchen are children, the event brochure read.

Becker has attended all of the past Chefs’ Challenges, but this was his first year sitting in one of the coveted, expensive front-row bistro seats. It was his and his wife’s sixth wedding anniversary, he said, and he wanted to do something special.

Those who are lucky enough to sit in those front-row seats are also fortunate enough to taste all of the food prepared by the chefs in front of them.

The entire evening was chatting and cooking, interspersed with witty comments by emcees Wilhelm and Gregg Rago and a raffle auctioning off cooking supplies for the benefit of Community Kitchen.

“It’s a fun event for the community,” Becker said. “The fact that they come out and support the event and support the kitchen is just a tremendous show of support for us.”

Follow reporter Anicka Slachta on Twitter @ajslachta.