Hoover firefighter wins Vestavia Rotary's Iron City Chef

Despite being the last one to leave the kitchen, Edward Pegues would walk away in first place as 2015’s Iron City Chef.

Vestavia Hills Rotary Club decided to put a twist on their annual cooking competition. Four firefighters traded in their helmets for chef hats for Iron City Chef at Jefferson State Community College Culinary Institute, July 18. 

“It was a wonderful event tonight,” said Kent Howard, rotarian and event chairman. It was a great community effort by all of our fire departments. We really enjoyed it. The chefs did an outstanding job. A couple of them could open their own restaurant from the comments I've heard.”

Competitors included Homewood’s Alexander Glover, Mountain Brook’s Lee Currie, Hoover’s Edward Pegues and Vestavia’s Trey VanHooser, each with more than a decade of firefighting experience. 

The firefighters — chefs — began prepping their entrees days in advance for a sold out crowd of 300 hungry attendees. After the attendees’ votes were counted for best meal, it was VanHooser’s herb roasted roulade with apple chutney and Pegues’ shrimp and grits that would earn them spots in the head-to-head round.

In this round, VanHooser and Pegues had 30 minutes to complete a dish for three judges using a mystery ingredient: beef tenderloin. Jefferson State Community College culinary instructor Dodd Jackson oversaw the event and provided limited ingredients for the contestants to use.

“It’s actually fun, but it’s also mindboggling,” Jackson said. “When you look to see what your options are, you have four starches and five different vegetables. So narrowing it down, that’s the hardest part.” 

Pegues prepared his beef tenderloin and served sweet potatoes, spring risotto and asparagus with an artichoke drizzle as his side dishes. Pegues said he had never worked with beef tenderloin or made risotto before. He also said he did not do anything to prepare for the 30-minute cook-off, but it wasn’t out of cockiness.

“I went in blind because it’s hard to prepare for that,” Pegues said. “Honestly, I just didn’t know how to prepare for the last 30-minute part.”

Both contestants were in for a challenge. As Jackson counted down the last ten seconds, VanHooser and Pegues finished their entrees with three seconds left to spare. 

Leah van Deren, culinary arts teacher at Shelby County College and Career Center in Columbiana and judge for Iron City Chef, said Pegues's beef tenderloin with sweet potatoes and asparagus was "the clear winner."

"I liked the presentation on the dish; it was a lot more colorful," van Deren said. "The flavor just popped, especially with the sweet potatoes. The asparagus, which was thin asparagus and is very easy to overcook, was cooked perfectly. The steak was also seasoned very nicely."

Pegues said he had been nervous since he received an email from his fire chief asking if he’d like to compete in Iron City Chef. To prepare, Pegues watched “Chopped” and practiced making his entrée for his family and coworkers.

Each contestant was paired with a culinary student from Jefferson State Community College. Ian Triggs, a Jefferson State student majoring in food management, assisted Pegues and said 2015 Iron City Chef was his first time competing ever. For helping Pegues win the competition, Triggs was awarded a $1,000 scholarship — an award that was not announced beforehand.

"It actually came as a shock," Triggs said. "It was 50/50 either way, and when I heard the 30 seconds, that's when you go into 'go mode.' I'm thrilled. I can pay off my tuition. That's a big boost."

Pegues said he thanks his wife for putting up with his high level of stress since he was entered into the competition, Hoover fire Chief Chuck Wingate for presenting him with the opportunity and his coworkers for eating his food.