Professional chefs are rarely completely satisfied because they’re perfectionists, according to Walter. Although his mind may be totally focused on pleasing guests, his imagination is always soaring thinking of new ideas. And soar it did when Walter was asked to be appear as a guest chef on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America. (must log into facebook member to view) Taking a road far less traveled by celebrated chefs previously on the show, Walter led his team of four to victory by stepping completely out of the box. Chef Royal and his team defeated celebrity Iron Chef Cat Cora 51-43 in an upset not even the most experienced oddsmaker would have predicted.
The originality of using the mystery ingredient, ostrich, in traditional southern dishes impressed the judges so greatly that they awarded Chef Royal and his team the highest score ever given in the history of the hit television show. Competing celebrity Iron Chefs who have appeared on the show include Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto and Cat Cora.
Whereas Cat Cora prepared a showy European gourmet dish using ostrich, Chef Royal and his team appealed to back-to-basic taste buds, creating ostrich burger with homemade chips; ostrich satay with peanut dipping Sauce, now found on the Angus Barn menu; ostrich pot pie with black pepper honey; ostrich filet with smashed rutabagas, turnips and wilted watercress; and finally, the piece de resistance: chocolate soufflé made with an ostrich egg. (Is your mouth watering yet?) The judges made no secret of their passion for the soufflé. As Judge Joel McHale summarized the soufflé, “You managed to take one of the ugliest birds and put it into one of the best desserts!”
Chef Royal gives credit to the team that tackled the challenges of inventing and executing those audacious ostrich dishes. For his award-winning challenge, he chose Angus Barn sous chefs Julia Strickland and Alan McSwain. As an added bonus, Walter asked the producers if Van and Steve’s son, then twelve-year-old Christopher, could appear for a segment. The judges consented, and Christopher became the youngest assistant on record in the show’s long history. Julia, now the owner of her own restaurant, Poppyseed Market & Deli, said, “Being chosen by Chef Royal as part of his ‘Iron Chef’ team was the chance of a lifetime and I was so proud to be part of his victory!”
http://www.angusbarn.com/index.htm
Then there was Pitmaster Ed Mitchell of the Pit Restaurant in downtown
http://www.foodnetwork.com/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/bbq-ribs/index.html
Ashley Christensen of Poole’s Dinner in downtown
