Owens Community College culinary arts students will put their cooking skills to the test during a competition comparable to the Food Network’s extremely popular “Iron Chef America” television show as the Department of Food, Nutrition and Hospitality hosts the national Susan Thurston Venison Culinary Competition Friday, March 19.

Sponsored by the Cervid Livestock Foundation, in conjunction with the North American Deer Farmers Association (NADeFA), the venison culinary competition will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the college’s Terrace View Café, which is located in College Hall Room 148.

The contest will involve six teams, each consisting of two Owens students. Teams will plan and prepare two courses within a three-hour time limit, vying for the right to be crowned champion. The two courses will include an appetizer and entrée, which are required to incorporate venison as the primary protein source.

Similar to “Iron Chef America”, teams will be provided an array of pantry items, as well as a pre-selected cutof venison meat, to create their culinary masterpieces. A panel of five judges will oversee venison culinary competition. Two floor judges will monitor team activity and timing from start to finish,while three tasting judges will evaluate plates for presentation, flavor, portion size and demonstration of knife and cooking skills.

Judging of the prepared venison plates will begin at approximately 1 p.m. Cash awards will be presented to the top teams at 4 p.m. on Friday (March 19) at the NADeFA National Conference, which is taking place at the SeaGate Convention Centre in downtown Toledo.

Owens culinary arts students participating in the competition include April Holdridge and Martha Everhart, of Toledo; Ronni Harteis, of Swanton and Rachel Gelacek, of Toledo; Charlene Black, of Pemberville, and Jennifer Cargle, of Toledo; Kurt Carnicom, of Fremont, and Matt Campbell of Millbury; Rebecca Velandra, of Ottawa Lake, Mich. and Christine Hopkins, of Toledo; and Ron Hipsher, of Arcadia, and Nicole Compton, of Toledo.

Alternates are Octavia Dabney, of Toledo, and Kathleen Butler, of Toledo, and Alex Smith of Toledo, and Tony Herrera, of Bowling Green.

Owens’ culinary arts program provides students with the skills and knowledge necessary for a career in the culinary arts industry. Both the associate’s degree and certificate preparesstudents for food preparation positions in restaurants, hotels, healthcare facilities, resorts and country clubs.

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