Media Advisory
January 14, 2020
Culinary Arts Students to Cook Off for San Diego’s Top Chefs in 15th Annual Teen Iron Chef Competition
WHAT: Tofu? Tarragon? Wasabi? What is the secret ingredient? Find out at the 15th Annual Teen Iron Chef Competition. San Diego Unified School District Culinary Arts and Management students battle it out preparing a three-course meal incorporating the secret ingredient. Celebrity judges include: Dave Warner - Tower 23; Percy Oani – The Shores; Jacob McBride – Brigantine; Jeff Rossman- Terra; Daryl O’Donnell – Convention Center and others.
WHO: San Diego County Chapter of the California Restaurant Association; Art Institute of California – San Diego; San Diego Unified School District Office of College, Career and Technical Education; Schools: Hoover, Garfield, Madison, Mira Mesa, San Diego and Morse high school students
WHEN: Thursday, January 16, 2020 (rain or shine)
· 3:30 p.m. – Students arrive to set up; introduction of VIP judges; announcement of secret ingredient
· 3:40 p.m. to 6:15 pm – One-hour timed competition including all cutting, mixing and food preparation; teams begin in 15-minute intervals
· 4:50 p.m. – First team presents to judges; presentations every 15 minutes
· 7:00 p.m. – Announcement of winning team
WHERE: Mesa College Culinary, 7250 Mesa College Drive, San Diego, CA 92111.
Media parking will be available in rear of Building MC. For others, parking is available in Lot 10.
VISUALS: High school students in the heat of competition cooking and serving meals, VIP judges evaluating meals, winning team awards ceremony.
SPEAKERS/INTERVIEWS: Students, teachers, celebrity judges. (Spanish available as well)
BACKGROUND: Teen Iron Chef is in its fifteenth year. The competition allows students to experience competitive cooking and based the San Diego Unified School District’s competition on the Iron Chef America Series on the Food Network.
Students are able to work on their ideas, go shopping, portion their protein and measure any dry or liquid ingredients the day before the event. They are not allowed to do any actual cooking, pre-making dough, or premixing ingredients ahead of time. On the day of the competition, they will be presented with two secret ingredients that must be incorporated into at least one of their three courses. They are allowed to have their recipes or prep-list at the station during the competition.
To keep the competition fresh and to not give any team an advantage, the secret ingredients are changed every year. Some of the secret ingredients from previous years include calamari, brie, balsamic vinegar, ginger, prosciutto, cantaloupe and tofu.
On-Site Contact: Lance Larson, Office of College Career & Technical Education, llarson@sandi.net, (619) 548-1166
District Media Contact: Maureen Magee, Communications Director, mmagee@sandi.net, (619) 725-5578
Please confirm attendance in advance. Thank you!
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