This competition is similar to the Food Network reality series “Chopped,” but it also demonstrates what chefs at Miami Valley Meals experience every day as the receive an unpredictable surplus of food from suppliers and distributors to transform into meals for those in need.
The chefs at Miami Valley Meals created four mystery boxes and distributed them to 13 participating chefs.
The following ingredients were in each mystery box:
A) breakfast sausage, Yukon gold potatoes, okra and blackberry glaze
B) brisket, lentils, turnips and sweet pickles
C) tofu, bell peppers, ketchup and farro (a plant-based box)
D) whole turkeys, kohlrabi, corn on the cob and cabbage
Guests that attended this event were able to sample the dishes and vote for their favorite. They chose Jacob Rodibaugh from Bistecca to compete again Blyth in a live cook-off.
Credit: Miami Valley Meals
Credit: Miami Valley Meals
Rodibaugh received mystery box A and served fire roasted okra and corn relish with rosti potatoes and chive yogurt sauce. He turned the breakfast sausage into Italian sausage and made a sweet and spicy glaze for the meatball.
The judges were the ones that chose Blyth to compete. He received box D and made a corn tamale that was filled with shredded turkey and wrapped in fresh corn husk. It was topped with candied red and green cabbage and cilantro.
Credit: Miami Valley Meals
Credit: Miami Valley Meals
During the cook-off, Blyth and Rodibaugh used the following mystery ingredients to make a final dish: ahi tuna, cous cous, pickled ginger and watermelon radish.
Blyth was declared the winner.
Other favorite dishes of the night included a southern sausage and potato soup with fried okra and microgreens that was served with a blackberry Dijon glazed cornbread muffin. This was prepared by Waver Howard of Creative Delights Catering, who had box A. He has competed in the competition all four years.
Carly Hensley from Speakeasy Ramen received box C. She made sweet and spicy tofu “burnt ends” with yuzu and pepper farro pilaf. This was the first year Miami Valley Meals offered a plant-based box.
Total funds raised from the competition is expected to be around $69,000, Naragon said.
All funds will go towards the nonprofit organization’s mission to prepare meals for those serving the hungry throughout the Dayton area.
“The community’s support means so much to us,“ Naragon said. ”Thank you to everyone who attended.”
Miami Valley Meals teamed up with The Foodbank to have composting stations at the event. Together, they were able to divert 365 pounds of compostable items from going to the landfill.
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