Cape May Food and Wine Festival Cook Off

Posted 09/19/05

CAPE MAY, NJ - The mystery ingredient was salmon.

The chefs had 20 minutes to concoct an original salmon recipe and present it to the judges.

And they had to perform their alchemy in front of a crowd of curious onlookers.

No, this was not the TV show Iron Chef.

It was the Cape May Food and Wine Festival Cook off.

Instead of chefs Mario Batali and Bobby Flay, chefs from the Washington Inn, The Mad Batter, the Pelican Club and the Wildwood Country Club did their stuff.

And instead of fancy TV studio kitchens, there were portable stoves and plastic containers of veggies outside Cape May Convention Hall.

Three members of the local media got the difficult job of tasting and judging all the divine salmon creations. The verdict?

William Walters from the Wildwood Country Club walked away with the honors of Iron Chef of the Day with his Citrus Tomato Salmon.

The Washington Inn's Luis Avila Palacios came in a close second with his Salmon napped in a velvety tomato cream sauce.

Pelican Club chef Doug Vaules captured best presentation with an artfully wrapped salmon fillet stuffed with asparagus.

And John Davies of the Mad Batter won most original for his Salmon pinwheels with corn and fingerling potatoes.

The chefs from left: John Davies, Luis Avila Palacios, Doug Vaules, William Walters.

The event was the kick off for the Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts annual Food and Wine Festival.

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