Thursday night the Scene’s competitive-cooking and all-you-can-eat food extravaganza finally returned after a frustrating, pandemic-induced two-year hiatus.
The sold-out event at First Horizon Park — presented by US Foods — was a fiery and fragrant battle between four local chefs: Nina Singto of Thai Esane, Hrant Arakelian of Lyra, Star Maye of Anzie Blue and Chris DeJesus of Butcher & Bee. (Read more about them here.)
They had just 60 minutes to make an impressive meal in a bare-bones outdoor kitchen. The twist? They had to showcase one secret ingredient that was revealed just minutes before showtime.
The 2022 Iron Fork chefs gear up to compete
The chefs, gathered in front of the stage, laughed and looked at one another with bewilderment as soon as the evening’s emcees — longtime Scene food writer Chris Chamberlain and comedian Josh Black — announced the secret ingredient: green chickpeas. The bright-green chickpeas are picked earlier in the growing season, so they’re more similar to a green pea than a chickpea, and they have a slightly softer texture compared to more mature beans.
The chefs quickly got to work — first stopping to “shop” at the US Foods pantry — while the rest of the crowd worked on sampling tasty bites from 20 local restaurants, including mini sweet potato and red velvet cupcakes from The Cupcake Collection, adorable cups of ceviche from Wilco Fusion Grill, chicken satay skewers from Thai Esane, tiny cups of boba tea from Banh Mi and Roll+, chips and salsa from Las Palmas, plant-based sausage and bacon biscuit bites from Graze, and mini cocktails made with cucumber and jalapeno from Tito’s Handmade Vodka.
Max Karlin's winning drink
In the meantime, a mixology competition was held in the VIP tent, where three local mixologists from Fable, The Southern and Chopper had 10 minutes to make a delicious drink with another secret ingredient, wild hibiscus flowers in syrup. All the drinks were beautiful, the bright-fuchsia syrup makes for a pretty mix-in, but after several sips from the judges, a winner was declared. Max Karlin from Chopper wowed with his tiki drink, decorated with flowers and Chopper’s trademark twisty straw.
Finally, as the sun set and the ballpark’s big screen beamed over the park, it came time to declare a winner of Iron Fork 2022. The panel of judges, four food and cooking experts including Ed Butler, Steve Cavendish, Rick Moonen and Margot McCormack, took their seats at the table on the stage as each chef presented their plate.
Hrant Arakelian's seared flat-iron steak atop chickpea puree and a chickpea-and-duck-fat sauté, finished with pomegranate molasses glaze
Lyra chef Hrant Arakelian’s dish was a treasure trove of spices. He made a chickpea puree by blending blanched chickpeas with mint, oregano, parsley, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Then he sauteed more chickpeas with garlic and duck fat and finished them with a glaze made with pomegranate molasses and a variety of spices including sumac. For the protein, he seared flat-iron steak with baharat spice — “Which is kind of like [Lyra’s] house spice blend,” he said — and finished it off with strawberries that had been macerated with honey, sumac and lime juice. A mouthful, literally and figuratively! The plate was gorgeous.
Chris DeJesus' yogurt flatbread with green chickpea hummus and a spring-vegetable salad
Butcher & Bee’s Chris DeJesus, with Bryan Lee Weaver as his sous chef, made the only vegetarian dish of the evening. He topped a yogurt flatbread with green chickpea hummus and a spring-vegetable salad dressed with the oil from sun-dried tomatoes and a bit of lemon juice. On top of that, he added Turkish Urfa chili-flake honey and crispy fried green chickpeas and capers tossed with black lime powder. It was a beautiful pile of bright greens and reds.
“It took me a minute to figure out how to eat it,” said one judge — former Scene editor and current Scene contributor — Steve Cavendish. “But once I did, it’s just got so many different layers of flavor. Just fantastic.”
Star Maye's Southern succotash atop a chickpea sauce with bacon, topped with crispy shrimp
Southern cuisine inspired Star Maye’s dish. She made Southern succotash on top of a chickpea sauce with bacon. She topped it with crispy shrimp and a chickpea-and-tomato pico de gallo. Succotash usually involves lima beans, but Maye, wisely, switched them out for the green chickpeas — it was an innovative move that impressed the judges.
Nina Singto's Tropical Shrimp Pineapple-Boat Fried Rice
And finally, Nina Singto presented her dish called Tropical Shrimp Pineapple-Boat Fried Rice. It was, of course, served in a carved-out pineapple, with a side of Nina Hot sauce. When Chamberlain asked her to explain what Nina Hot was “compared to, I don’t know, lava” she laughed and said, “Nina Hot will take you all the way to the motherland.” The crowd — several of them having experienced Nina Hot at Thai Esane once or twice themselves, no doubt — cheered with delight.
All the dishes were creative and beautiful — that these chefs could make this quality of food outside on portable burners at a baseball field, of all places, was not lost on the judges. But Iron Fork is a competition, and there can only be one winner. After several minutes of deliberation — and more eating — the choice was made.
Lyra's Hrant Arakelian receives his trophy
This year’s Iron Fork champion is … Chef Hrant Arakelian from Lyra!
“He focused on the secret ingredient and he took it to another level,” said Moonen. “Everything was really, really delicious and well thought-out.”
What’s more, all the chefs made an extra plate to be auctioned off so one lucky audience member could enjoy each creation, and that auction brought in $1,700 for The Nashville Food Project. One very generous hero paid $801 for Nina’s pineapple boat! Maybe it’s time to bottle up and sell that Nina’s Hot sauce, Nina!
Nina Singto and our hero
