Who’s the top sustainable chef?

Emily Ostrove ’15 (left), Bon Appétit Chef Crystal Dagget and Rebecca Ansolabehere ’15 compete in Whitman’s first-ever Sustainable Iron Chef competition.

Inspired by the popular Food Network show, the Whitman version featured teams of students and chefs tasked with transforming a selection of sustainably grown food items – including a mystery ingredient, asparagus – into a meal in 30 minutes for a panel of volunteer judges, including Associate Professor of Anthropology Jason Pribilsky ’93, Bon Appétit chef Greg Perez and Hannah Joseph ’12.

The winning team was Bon Appétit chef Julie Zumwalt, Molly Johanson ’14 and Lydia Bailey ’14. They prepared grilled prosciutto with Gruyère cheese and local Locati Farms asparagus pesto on Walla Walla Bread Company bread. They served the dish with Locati Farms asparagus spears fried in tempura batter and a micro-green salad featuring shaved Locati Farms asparagus with local Octopus Garden star thistle honey vinaigrette.