Chef competition tonight at White Heron Cellars

TRINIDAD - If you enjoy Iron Chef on TV's Food Channel, you may want to drop by White Heron Cellars this evening, Friday, Sept. 7, to witness Chef Extravaganza.

"A number of years ago, Farmer Consumer Awareness Day called and asked me if I would do something on the Friday evening prior to FCAD, and I suggested an iron chef type event," White Heron proprietor Cameron Fries said.

Accordingly, White Heron put on an event which is designed to complement FCAD by showcasing local farm production. Fries spends three days ahead of time collecting produce and meat from farms within 10 miles of the winery.

Three chefs come every year. This year they will be Dave Toal from Ravenous Catering, Richard Kitos from Ivy Wild, and Amilee Cappel-Olsen from a deli in Chelan.

"In essence, when the chefs get here, I have all the food piled up. They sort through it and start making small plates," Fries said.

For 20 minutes or so, each chef will produce one plate. Then they will all shift and start to produce something else. This continues throughout the evening until desserts appear.

"The only thing prepared ahead of time is that I will soak the dried beans so they can be cooked immediately," Fries said. "All of the meat and produce are donated by local farms and are gathered in such a way as to be as fresh as possible."

Chef Extravaganza will include musical entertainment provided by Mugsy's Groove, a funk band that refers to its works as all original Cascade Mountain Funk.

The cooking and entertainment will start at 6 p.m. The all-you-can-eat admission charge will be $25 per person. Children under 13 participate free of charge at all of White Heron events.

This event gets lost a bit in the shuffle of FCAD but I believe the incredible quality and variety of the food deserves more attention.